L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r R e a d e r s , M a r c h 8 , W o m e n ' s D a y , h o n o r s t h e w o r l d ' s w o m e n . I t w a s f i r s t p r o - claimed on March 8, 1910, to commemorate a protest by female garment workers in New York City in 1857, and is a holiday born out of women's struggles for suf- frage, decent working condi- t i o n s , a n d o t h e r h u m a n rights. Many Italian women w e r e h i r e d a s l o w - p a i d w o r k e r s i n t h e g a r m e n t industry and were exploited b y f a c t o r y o w n e r s i n t h e Eastern States."We want b r e a d a n d r o s e s , t o o " was a sign carried in 1912 by y o u n g I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n women striking in a textile mill in Lawrence, Massachu- setts. The 1912 strike result- ed in national sympathy for the exploited Italian work- ers in America. The phrase "bread and roses" became the title of a poem about the s t r i k e , a n d A . G i o v a n i t t i wrote an Italian song, Pane e Rose, which was popular with the Italian dressmakers of the International Ladies Garment Union. *** Saint Patrick's Day, w h i c h w e c e l e b r a t e o n M a r c h 1 7 , h a s a n I t a l i a n Connection. I n h i s a u t o b i o g r a p h y , Confessions, written shortly before his death, the saint tells us that his father was a R o m a n o f f i c i a l n a m e d Calpurnius. Calpurnius was an ancient Italic or Etruscan clan name: Julius Caesar's wife was Calpurnia (daugh- ters took the feminine form of the clan name). Patrick was born in Eng- land around the year 385 AD. Roman cities in Eng- land had shops and beauti- ful houses, so Patrick lived the good life for a while. But across the sea, in Ireland (Eire), things were not so good: tribal kings were con- stantly feuding, and in the year 400 AD, a tribal king named Niall, attacked Eng- land. He took thousands of prisoners, including Patrick, as slaves. Soon, the rich lit- tle Roman kid was forced to herd pigs and sheep, just a poor little slave boy far from home. At 21 years of age, after six years as a slave, he ran away. Walking many miles to the sea, he found a ship that took him back to Eng- land. By now, the Romans had been chased out; they were no longer rulers, and the country was in ruins. P a t r i c k s a i l e d a c r o s s t h e c h a n n e l a n d w a n d e r e d through Europe, then on to Rome, and found that, by the year 410 AD, the center o f a l l R o m a n p o w e r h a d been conquered as well. His past was really dead, so he decided to go back to England to think, pray, and live very quietly there. While in prayer, he felt certain that God was calling him back to Ireland to bring all those tribes together and make Ireland a Christian land. But first, Patrick went to France and studied religion there for ten years. In 432 AD, Pope Celestine made Patrick a bishop and named him Patricius. Now bishop, Patricius sailed for Ireland, but the Irish people were not interested in Chris- tianity and tried to stone him to death. Patrick and his men fled, and they found s h e l t e r f o r t h e n i g h t i n a b a r n n e a r t h e s h o r e . T h e b a r n b e l o n g e d t o a t r i b a l k i n g c a l l e d D i c h u . H e thought the bishop and his men were robbers and want- Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. ed to kill them. Patrick held out his hand and smiled, with a golden aura around his face. Dichu put down his w e a p o n s , h i s f i e r c e d o g stopped growling, and the k i n g b e c a m e t h e f i r s t C h r i s t i a n i n I r e l a n d , with the barn turning into its first church. Patrick then started trav- e l i n g a r o u n d I r e l a n d , preaching the gospel and teaching the Irish about the H o l y T r i n i t y u s i n g a shamrock, a three-leafed clover, to explain the idea of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Still today, the shamrock is one of the most beloved symbols of Ireland. Patrick always had a drum- mer with him, too. When he a r r i v e d i n a v i l l a g e , t h e drummer would drum, so t h a t p e o p l e w o u l d l e a v e their houses to go listen to Patrick preaching. It is also said that the Saint chased all the snakes out of Ireland and into the sea, and that he built hundreds of churches. Patrick died on March 17, between the years 461 and 492 AD. The Pope declared h i m a s a i n t a n d h a d h i m buried on church grounds in Downpatrick, Ireland. *** Father's Day in Italy is celebrated on March 19, the Feast of Saint Joseph. In the US, we arbitrarily picked a day to honor our fathers. Saint Joseph represents a fine example of what father- hood is supposed to be, as Joseph raised Jesus as his own son (conceived, as the Gospel say, without sin by God). A stained glass window depicting Saint Patrick (Photo: Martin Mullen/ Dreamstime)

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