L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano H olidays are a l l a b o u t s h a r i n g and making memories, i f y o u a s k m e . S h a r i n g , because we end up spending a lot of time in the company o f o u r f a m i l y , d e f i n i t e l y more than the rest of the year, and that means shar- ing space, time and tasks, e s p e c i a l l y a r o u n d t h e kitchen. Making memories because when you're in good company, that always hap- pens. But sharing and mak- ing memories is pleasant e v e n w h e n i t h a p p e n s a t community level and, in this, L'Italo-Americano can help. For many, the spirituali- ty of Christmas, the root itself of the festivities, is sometimes lost in the sea of presents, turkeys, and frost- ed cookies filling our homes this time of the year. But for I t a l i a n s a n d I t a l i a n - Americans it often isn't so, perhaps because that, too, is such a large part of our own family history and cultural heritage: midnight mass, G e s ù B a m b i n o , t h e H o l y F a m i l y t r a v e l i n g t o B e t h l e h e m , t h e N a t i v i t y scene. And then, there is the food, of course. Why do I mention spiritu- ality and food? Because they are the leitmotiv of your C h r i s t m a s m e m o r i e s . For this year's festivities, we've asked you, our read- ers, to look back at your childhood Christmases and t e l l u s a b o u t t h e e a r l i e s t memories that connected you to Italy. Norma Courrier's early Christmas memories sum up pretty well, I think, the way seasonal celebrations went - and go - in Italian-American households: " A few days before Christmas, we'd be s i t t i n g a r o u n d t h e t a b l e making cappelletti. Then, midnight Mass, baked fish on Christmas Eve (if there was extra money a broiled lobster, but it didn't happen too often) and cappelletti in brodo, a must first course on Christmas Day, followed by a roasted capon." Fresh- pasta-making featured heav- i l y a l s o i n M a r i o n Ferrante Martin's memo- r i e s : " I r e m e m b e r l i t t l e grandma making ravioli for C h r i s t m a s d i n n e r . . . s h e w o u l d r o l l a t a b l e - f u l l o f dough through the broom handle, and set that aside. Then, she'd roll out more dough on the table again, put her scoops of cheese, and cover with the dough wrapped around the broom handle. Then, she'd cut the ravioli with a pizza cutter. Then all us girls would use a f o r k t o p i n c h t h e edges...there were hundreds of these pillows! She would sprinkle them with cornmeal and put them aside for cook- ing. Oh my goodness, such a meal…" Another common trait of your Italian Christmas mem- o r i e s w a s f i s h , a s L i n o DiSalvo reminisces: " I'm 4 or 5 years old, the basement smells like fried fish, as we all do thanks to Nonna and Zia's cooking. About 35 of us would stay up Christmas Eve night until the clock struck m i d n i g h t : t i m e f o r o u r gifts!" Baccalà was a must in many families, however, the dish could cause some problems around the table, especially if there were chil- dren, as Lou Marciano, 97 y e a r s o f a g e a n d W o r l d War Two veteran, wrote in an article published in T h e R h o d e I s l a n d W a v e , which his daughter Deb sent us: "Baccalà only stayed a f e w y e a r s o n o u r m e n u b e c a u s e , a s t h e c h i l d r e n entered the circle of love, their likes and dislikes were considered: baccalà was not a favorite." And what would you do a f t e r a h e f t y I t a l i a n Christmas meal? You played t o m b o l a , a s M a r i a L . Mergola tells us, "I remem- ber playing tombola… ambo, terno, quaterno, cinquina… the numbers said in Italian." Some of you have, in fact, memories of Christmases in Italy, and they, too involve t o m b o l a g a m e s , j u s t l i k e those of Cajetano5, who spent his childhood in beau- t i f u l G a e t a . T h e r e , h e " W o u l d l o o k f o r w a r d t o p l a y i n g t o m b o l a o n Christmas and New Year's Eve. Our markers would be r e m n a n t s f r o m o u r m e a l such as broken shells from various nuts and tangerine peels. The numbers were also called in a distinct way - N a t a l e w o u l d m e a n 2 5 . Santa Lucia would mean 13. We would learn about the saints as we played." The beautiful memories of C a n d i M i l l e r m e r g e t o g e t h e r t h e t w o g r e a t t h e m e s o f o f o u r Christmases, food and spiri- tuality, in the form of din- ners at grandmas and tradi- t i o n a l p r e s e p e . C a n d i remembers how her grand- parents made "Homemade ravioli for Christmas dinner, with a big salad, bread and a platter of fried chicken," and t h e n " A l l t h e f a m i l y g o t together at their home the next day to eat and exchange gifts." But perhaps the mem- ories of her father and his presepe are the most beauti- ful. She continues: "My Dad w a s f i r s t - g e n e r a t i o n American. He always bought a large tree that we decorat- e d b u t h e d i d ' t h e f l o o r ' underneath the tree himself. He had figures from Italy, a manger scene was the cen- terpiece, and he made 'hills' o u t o f b o x e s a n d c o v e r e d them with cotton snow. He had houses and churches he arranged on these hills. We kids loved 'the floor' and p l a y e d w i t h i t . O u r Christmases were absolutely wonderful and loud and fun - Candi concludes - I miss all of them so much, but I am so grateful for these memories." T h e N a t i v i t y i s o n e o f C a r m e l a B o n a n n o Dalton's fondest memories, too: "Every Christmas sea- son, my mother would set up her nativity scene which we'd brought from Italy, and she'd pick up her book of novenas (written in Italian) a n d s t a r t r e a d i n g t h e C h r i s t m a s n o v e n a s e a c h night until Christmas." The Christmas novena is such a traditional, old-fashioned form of worship, one that has almost disappeared in modern Italy. But once upon a t i m e , i t w a s n o t o n l y a m o m e n t o f w o r s h i p a n d meditation but also a gather- ing of families and friends, who shared a meaningful time of prayer together. And then, of course, there is midnight mass: "My first midnight mass, which I consciously remember, was on Christmas Eve/Day when I was 5 and, though I was sleepy, I came wide-awake u p o n e n t e r i n g S t . Christopher's church. It had to have taken a week to pre- pare the altar and nave with golden fixtures and lace cov- e r i n g s . M a s s w a s s t i l l i n Latin, which just added to the air of profound mystery," A n t h o n y D e e V a r r o n e remembers. What struck me the most while collecting your words was their familiarity. It was how much your memories of Italian-Americans resembled those of a woman born and bred in Italy, me: the loving presence of our grandpar- ents, the lavish meals, of course, the respected, cher- ished presence of faith. In this, it seems, we Italians of I t a l y a n d o f A m e r i c a a r e truly the same. We love tra- ditions and we want them to last forever. CHIARA D'ALESSIO Memories of Christmas from Italy to the US Tombola appears often in the childhood memories of our readers (Photo: Rocco Lombardi/Dreamstime) LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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