L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano C apodanno is, on the Italian calen- dar, the second most important h o l i d a y i n t h e season, just after Christmas and just before Epifania. F r o m a r e l i g i o u s p o i n t o f view, of course, the day of the Befana is more important - and not because of the Befana - but all in all, we tend to cele- brate the 6th of January, the day when the Wise Kings met Baby Jesus, in a more sub- dued manner: there are pre- sents and there is loads of food, but the end of the holi- days looms and those January blues are just around the cor- ner. Celebrations for the new year are, pretty much every- w h e r e , o n t h e 3 1 s t o f D e c e m b e r a n d t h e 1 s t o f January, besides places where C h r i s t i a n O r t h o d o x a n d Chinese traditions are fol- lowed: but in the rest of the world, and in Italy for sure, that's the way it has always been. Or has it? You may be surprised to know that no, it hasn't always been the case. Our beloved forefathers the Romans, for instance, didn't quite start celebrating the new year in December until a century and a h a l f b e f o r e t h e b i r t h o f Christ, because for them the beginning of the new year was on the first day of March. Terentius, important play- wright of the republican peri- od, explained it was the sec- ond king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, to set the date on the first day of the month dedicated to Mars, god of war and battle, whose cult was incredibly widespread in a nation of warriors such as the Kingdom of Rome. There was also, of course, the fact that March is the month when nature awakens from winter, and quite nothing spells "new beginning" as much as that. W h e n a n d h o w t h e Romans moved the beginning of the new year to the month of January is a debated mat- ter. Some date the moment to 191 BC, when the Lex Acilia de Intercalando was promul- g a t e d o n b e h a l f o f c o n s u l Manius Acilius Glabrio; this law left to the discretion of the pontiffs the possibility to use or omit the intercalary month, which was used to align the calendar year to the seasons. Others believe it was Julius Caesar himself who, with his calendar reform in 46 BC, moved the beginning of the year two months earlier. But it is probably another the- ory, one that wants a consul, Quintus Fulvius Nobilior, a s t h e p r o p o n e n t o f t h e change, to be more likely. C o n s u l s w e r e e l e c t e d i n December, some months ear- lier than the Ides of March, w h e n t h e y w o u l d t a k e u p office. But Fulvius Nobilior needed to do so straight away, because he had some serious home issues, the Celtiberian revolts in Spain, to take care of so he asked the Senate – and obtained – to take up o f f i c e i m m e d i a t e l y . S i n c e then, this exception became t h e r u l e a n d R o m e ' s C a p o d a n n o m o v e d t o December. How did the Romans cele- brate the new year, you may wonder… well, thinking of it, not very differently from how we celebrate it today. The R o m a n s w e r e t h e f i r s t t o believe that what you do on New Year's Day, you'll do all year round, a saying we still love today in Italy: for this reason, they would always work a few hours, to ensure they'd have employment for the rest of the year. They were also keen on gift exchange, something we still do during the holiday season, even if we n o w p r e f e r C h r i s t m a s f o r that; their little, new year's gifts were called strenae (a word we Italians still use, albeit it is a tad old-fashioned, which means, indeed, "pre- sent") and were, more often than not, very simple, nothing more than some dried figs a n d d a t e s , n u t s , o r s o m e h o n e y : a s y m b o l o f a b u n - dance and a wish for the new year to be bountiful. Another traditional gift for the new year were plates filled with acorns, which symbolized strength. Believe it or not, it was also customary to gift your friends a snake for New Year's Day. Yes, a snake. But it didn't have to be real, thanking the gods, because rings, bracelets, or utensils with their depic- tion were enough to ensure the receiver would enjoy good fortune all year long. Snakes were a symbol of health and were associated with the cult o f t h e s a b i n e g o d d e s s Strenua, from whom, by the way, came the word strena (strenae at the plural) we m e n t i o n e d b e f o r e . I n h i s works, Varro tells us that lau- r e l b r a n c h e s , w h i c h w e r e s a c r e d t o S t r e n u a , w e r e known as strenae, and they were considered a symbol of h a p p i n e s s a n d p r o t e c t i o n from negativity. Exchanging presents at the beginning of the new year was really an act of love, as you wished upon the receiver good health, wealth, and for- tune, all in one simple ges- ture. Ah, the Romans… How cool they were. O ur last word of t h e y e a r i s a n expression, and w e c o u l d n ' t h a v e p i c k e d a b e t t e r o n e , c o n s i d e r i n g Capodanno is just a handful of days away: conto alla rovescia. C o n t o a l l a r o v e s c i a (con-toh ahl-lah roh-veh- s h a h ) m e a n s " t o c o u n t b a c k w a r d " a n d i s t h e equivalent of the English "countdown." Just like its E n g l i s h c o u n t e r p a r t , t h e expression is common for those moments when we wait f o r s o m e t h i n g e a g e r l y , e x p e c t a n t l y , a n d i n a n t i c i p a t i o n , j u s t l i k e i t happens for the new year. In fact, that's when you're more l i k e l y t o e n c o u n t e r t h e sentence, as in: 11.55, il conto a l l a r o v e s c i a v e r s o l a mezzanotte è cominciato! ("11.55, the countdown to midnight has begun!"), but d o n ' t b e s u r p r i s e d i f y o u c o m e a c r o s s i t o n o t h e r occasions. Are you a student about to sit an important exam? Well, then hai già cominciato il conto alla rovescia? ("have you started the countdown to the day of the exam, yet?"), or perhaps you're just about to get married, in which case your conto alla rovescia is to your wedding day. But conto alla rovescia c a n a l s o b e a n i m p o r t a n t work tool: think of the people a t C a p e C a n a v e r a l , f o r instance, but also of those e n g i n e e r s w o r k i n g w i t h explosives: you need to be well-coordinated to make sure things go smooth and no one gets injured, right? That's when a good, old-fashioned conto alla rovescia comes in handy. Today, we are nine days away from New Year's Eve: is i t t o o s o o n t o s t a r t a countdown? - Andrà al concerto del R o l l i n g S t o n e s . E ' c o n t e n t i s s i m o , h a g i à c o m i n c i a t o i l c o n t o a l l a rovescia! - He's going to a Rolling Stones' concert. He's really happy, the countdown has already begun! - Tempo di fare il conto alla rovescia, ragazzi! 10, 9, 8…. - Time for the countdown, guys! 10, 9, 8… - Il conto alla rovescia v e r s o i l n o s t r o v i a g g i o a L o n d r a è c o m i n c i a t o , partiamo tra una settimana! - The countdown to our L o n d o n t r i p h a s s t a r t e d : we're leaving in a week! LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Expression of the day: conto alla rovescia to the new year! Italian Curiosities: did you know the Romans celebrated New Year's Eve in March? Celebrating… ancient Roman style! (Photo: Everett Collection/Shutterstock) © Tatiana Badaeva | Dreamstime.com

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