L'Italo-Americano

24 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013 "Dolcetto o Scherzetto?" Trick or treat? sALvATORE dI vITA It is difficult to say exactly when vigilia d'Ognissanti or Halloween first took hold in Italy. This spooky day seems to have floated into existence like a ghost, almost without notice. Some sources say that it was around the 1990s when Italy first fell under the spell of American television programs and their merchandizing. It eventually caught on as a festive day among Italian youth who offered their own version of the "Trick or Treat" ultimatum by a declaration of "Dolcetto o Scherzetto," which is their version of Trick or Treat but which literally means "Dessert or Joke." In recent years, the celebration of Halloween has made its way into Italy's list of holidays. The sight of children in costume running through the streets and advertisements by restaurants and clubs boasting of the best Halloween parties have become commonplace. Halloween, the last day of October, falls before two important religious holidays: November 1, Ognissanti or Tutti i Santi, All Saints Day and the following day, Il Giorno dei Morti, which, in English, goes by the name of All Souls Day. Many cemeteries in Italy are crowded on these holidays, since Italians pay respects to their ancestors by cleaning and decorating their graves with flowers, wreaths and votive candles. Yet, notwithstanding the customs of these two days, the eve of All Saints Day had received practically no acknowledgement ... until lately. It seems that each year, over As strange as it may seem, Halloween actually had its origin in Europe and was brought to America by immigrants (Celts) who came with their customs of pre-All-Saints-Day activities. The Celts were people who lived in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern France as things died, Samhain, was connected to human death. The Celtic festival claimed that during Samhain, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living. It was believed that demons, spirits and witches roamed around at night and could only be pacified by pre- early as 2,000 years ago. They celebrated November 1 in honor of Samhain, (pronounced Sahween), meaning "summer's end." Samhain was known as the lord of death. Since winter was the season of cold and darkness and the time when many senting a feast in their honor, which may or may not have given rise to the custom of Trick or Treat. One could avoid being haunted by the spirits if one appeared to dress like them. They honored the dead by building bonfires which was believed to aid the spirits on their journey and keep them away from the living. The Ancient Romans celebrated a holiday known as "Feralia" which served to honor the dead. It took place in the month of February which was, at that time, the end of the Roman year. In their ancient religion, the Romans worshiped the "Manes" or "Di Manes," deities thought to be representative of the souls of deceased loved ones. Their custom required them to bring offerings of wreaths, grain, salt and bread soaked in wine as well as violets to be scattered about. Another version of Halloween's origin claims that when the Romans conquered Britain, the Roman feast of Feralia was combined with the Celtic Samhain. The origin of Halloween seems to have been derived from a number of customs and traditions from the ancient Romans to the Celts and eventually became tied to Christianity. And according to some historians, much of Halloween had to do with the Christian church in its endeavor to discourage pagan beliefs and practices. The church could not help but take notice of these pagan activities. In its effort to deal with pagan holidays, the church instituted major changes in its policies. In 601 A.D., Pope Gregory (the First) issued a decree to his missionaries concerning native beliefs and customs of potential converts. Instead of obliterating native customs and beliefs, the Halloween celebrations in Corinaldo the last couple of decades, there are an increasing number of festivities indicating that Halloween is becoming part of Italian culture. Italians look for Halloween costumes and decorations almost as much as they do in preparation for Carnevale. John Polidori and the vampires PETER TAFURI Vampires existed in folklore for centuries, gruesome, repulsive, rotting horrors that mindlessly preyed on the blood of the living. The modern version is quite different; while still requiring liquid refreshment, they appear as eerily attractive, suave, psychologically complex, traveling in the best circles, albeit at night. This remarkable transformation was brought about by John Polidori. He was born in London in 1795, the son of Gaetano Polidori, a teacher, translator and author who had been secretary to Vittorio Alfieri. John was the youngest person to graduate from the University of Edinburgh, receiving a medical degree at the age of 19. Witty, intelligent, handsome and temperamental, he became friends with Byron, and accompanied him on a grand tour of Europe starting in 1816. Byron, Shelley, Keats and the other Romantic Poets were the rock stars of the day, often more famous for their outrageous lifestyles than their poetry, and Polidori fit in well. He and Byron arrived in the summer of that year at the Villa Diodati in Switzerland, which they shared with Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, soon to be his wife, and her half-sister Claire, who had been Byron's mistress. Polidori kept a diary of the trip, but sadly parts of it were John William Polidori. by F.G. Gainsford oil on canvas, circa 1816 destroyed by his sister, so whether it was a wild time of sex, drugs, and drinking as depicted in the Ken Russell movie Gothic or whatever we'll never know, but what has survived are two of the most influential works in the English language, Frankenstein and Polidori's The Vampyre. Byron had proposed a little writing contest to see who could come up with the scariest story. Ironically, his and Shelley's were soon forgotten, and none of the works were published at the time. With their supersized egos, Byron, Shelly and Polidori quarreled and soon parted their ways; the latter returned to England and resumed his medical practice. In 1819 a pirated copy of The Vampyre, wrongly attributed to Byron, appeared and became an instant sensation. The first vampire story in English, the title character, Lord Ruthven, transformed the horror of legend into the modern man of mystery and mayhem. It was soon translated into many languages, dramatized in numerous stage versions, and inspired such writers as E. T. A. Hoffmann, Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Allan Poe, Bulwer Lytton, Bram Stoker (whose character Dracula is essentially a reworking of Lord Ruthven), and of course Anne Rice. Sadly, Polidori, like his friends Byron and Shelley, died young, in 1821. His sister Charlotte put together a censored version of his diary, which was edited by her son William Michael Rossetti, but not published until 1911. Some critics have belittled Polidori's genius, but the more objective appreciate his contribution as the creator of the modern vampire story. missionaries were instructed to use them to compromise the native customs with Christianity. It became an effective approach to missionary work. Accordingly, some church holy days were set to coincide with native holy days. For example, Christmas was assigned a date of December 25 to correspond to mid-winter celebrations of many people and winter solstice. It was May 13, 609 AD when Pope Boniface IV re-consecrated the Pantheon in Rome, renaming it the "Church of St. Mary and the Martyrs," establishing this day as a day of remembrance for all the Church's martyrs. Over a century later, Pope Gregory III changed the date of remembrance to November 1, dedicating an oratory in the original St. Peters Basilica in honor of "All Saints" to represent those saints who did not otherwise have a special day devoted to them. It was also intended that this November 1 holiday would substitute for Samhain and draw the devotion of the Celtic people. Although the Celtic deities did fade somewhat, they maintained much of their existence in the form of fairies and leprechauns of more recent traditions. But what does all this have to do with Halloween? Well, All Saints Day was also known as All Hallows Day, the word "Hallow" meaning something honored as holy. The day before All Hallows Day became known as All Hallows Eve and over time, through colloquial contraction, Hallows Eve became known as Hallow-eve and eventually Halloween. The customs related to Halloween's Englishspeaking world were, for the most part, superstitions which later developed into fun activities and which seemingly lost their ties to paganism. Italy's celebration of Halloween goes far beyond a mere Dolcetto o Scherzetto. In typical Italian style, each town boasts of providing the best of Halloween celebrations. The Devil's Bridge in Borgo a Mossano, and an interactive game called La Notte Nera or Black Night and horror movies are shown all night long. Corinaldo, in central Italy's le Marche region, features spooky attractions, and taverns culminating on Halloween night with a show of music, fire, and lights all around the town. All Saints Eve Walk in many Italian cities include special night visits to medieval towers, crypts, dungeons and castles. So if you're planning to be frightened for Halloween, try visiting Italy. Many towns offer several chilling displays of mummies and bones in catacombs, churches, and crypts which are not made to look like the real thing because they are the real thing. Not recommended for young children. Buon Vigilia d'Ognissanti!

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