L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 L'Italo Americano maintains its identity while renewing itself and adapting to the readers' needs looking masks, clothed in rags, rattling chains and cowbells, and beating "naughty" children around the thighs with birches… or at least pretending to do so! Nowadays they partake in a less violent and definitely more fun practice: as their faces, arms and h a n d s a r e c o v e r e d i n b l a c k grease they enjoy chasing young kids to draw a black mark on their cheeks. One of the best places to witness this joyous show is at Stelvio in the Val Venosta valley, where this tradi- tion takes on a form of its own. I t i s c a l l e d " K l o s e n " - f r o m Santa Claus- and draws specta- tors from all over the region. Klökeln, too, is a tradition that is still alive in the area and can be traced back to the 16th century. The name "Klöckeln" derives from a dialect word for "klopfen" or "knock". The three "Klöckel nights" are the three T h u r s d a y e v e n i n g s b e f o r e December 21st, the winter sol- stice. Masked kids move from h o u s e t o h o u s e k n o c k i n g o n doors and asking for gifts, much like American children do on Halloween. While doing so they sing two songs: the "Klöckel" song and the thanking song, both tunes that probably have their roots in ancient pagan cus- toms. As Christmas draws nearer, families but also villages and towns set up the Nativity Scene with figures made from clay or wood, often carved at home or by local artisans, replicating the manger scene where baby Jesus w a s b o r n , w i t h M a r y a n d Joseph, a donkey and an ox, with the shepherds and angels in adoration of the child. From January 6th they are joined by the Three Wise Men or Magi. The Diocesan Museum in the P r i n c e B i s h o p ' s P a l a c e (Hofburg) in Bressanone/Brixen f e a t u r e s o n e o f t h e w o r l d ' s largest collection of Nativity scenes, as well as workshop for c h i l d r e n t o c r a f t t h e i r o w n Nativity. For more information visit: http://www.hofburg.it/. If you would like to buy and bring home a gift that is both different and very traditional, think incense: it is burned in Christmas is coming, marking the end of quite a challenging year for L'Italo-Americano, which has undertaken some major changes mainly relating to its digital plat- forms. Besides an increase in general content and news from the local communities, the newspaper has improved its outreach on digital and mobile platforms. The urgent need for such an evolution is also confirmed by the latest news from Italy: from his office in the Vatican, Pope Francis used a tablet to turn on the lights of the largest Christmas Tree in the world, fea- turing about 1,000 lights placed on the slopes of Mount Ingino, outside the city of Gubbio in Umbria region. Clearly, nowadays living without the modern means of communications is no longer an option, including the social networks that disseminated the information in real time. Therefore, L'Italo Americano is investing in the online version, in order to meet not only the demand of the publishing industry but also the needs of its readers. The main goal of the newspaper is to represent the Italian American community, and to do so they must share the same lifestyle. As we turn on our mobile phones as soon as we wake up in the morning, look up the news while com- muting, and check our emails, tweets, and Facebook messages in the office, it's imperative for L'Italo-Americano to be part of this all. We are working hard to upgrade the oldest weekly newspaper of the United States and to make sure that it represents contempo- rary Italy, the Italian people, and most of all the Italian American community of the West Coast, which can preserve its cultural her- itage also thanks to the paper's weekly contribution. The valuable experience that L'Italo-Americano boasts after so many years of service must pave the way towards a bright future, helping it understand the needs of a constantly evolving communi- ty. Dear readers, L'Italo-Americano changes by following your example and giving voice to the initiatives that you carry out not only in California but in 8 different Italian American communities. Together we are shaping the future of a newspaper that, for over a century, has committed to reaffirming our Italian identity in spite of the distance from a Country that we miss and fondly think of, especially during the holiday season. From the heart we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2015. S o u t h T y r o l e a n h o m e s o n Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and the evening of 6th January. On these three special nights family members carry incense around the house and pray for the new year to be filled with joy and happiness for all. During the holidays is not unusual to run into children walking around the streets of Brixen dressed as the Three W i s e M e n : t h e y a r e t h e Sternsinger and they go from house to house to sing special songs and collect donations and t h e y w r i t e w i t h c o n s e c r a t e d chalk the year and the initials C+M+B (Christus mansionem benedicat - May Christ bless this house) on the house door. Brixen is only 30 minutes away by train from Bolzano, the region's capital, but a car is a better way to explore the area as some of the villages and valleys are not as well connected by public transportation. The near- e s t a i r p o r t s a r e V e r o n a Villafranca (about 2 hours to the South) and Innsbruck (about one our to the north in Austria). A group of musicians playing the alpine horn in the streets of Brunico From the director Continued from page 2

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