Page 24 - Italian-American Herald - December 2024

24 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | DECEMBER 2024 ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
PER I BAMBINI
Le cose belle di Natale – the beauty of Christmas
By Maverick and Darla Cannavo
L'albero (lal-bear-o) the tree is going up
and mamma is hanging those shiny balls on
i rami (e rah-me) the branches. Darla and I
are on the couch and we both realize at the
same time that È Natale! (a nah-tal-a) It’s
Christmas! We love this time of year! Both of
us remember our fi rst Christmas when we
received regali (ray-gal-ee) and extra treats.
Mamma and papà spend more time with us
because they are not working. So, what else
happens during Christmas?
Amici e famiglia (ah-me-chee a fa-miya)
friends and family come to visitare (viz-ee-
tar-a) visit and they share food and stories
and abbracci (ah-bra-chee) hugs. People
hang pretty colored lights outside their
houses. There is one house we went to when
we visited our nonni (no-knee) grandparents
in Delaware that has hundreds of lights,
characters from children’s movies like Winnie
the Pooh and Santa and his reindeer and so
much more. The children and adults were
so happy to walk through and see all these
decorations. Mamma told us it is something
that reminds people of their infanzia (in-
fahn-z-ah) childhood. We liked it too except
for the ones that moved.
Some people, like mamma, have favorite
Christmas movies they watch every year. We
love snuggling on the couch with mamma
and papa in front of un fuoco accogliente (oon
fwo-koh ah-col-yen-tay) a cozy fi re.
Last year we went to see le luci di Natale
(lay loo-chee d Nah-tal-a) the Christmas
lights at Hershey Park. Era Bellissimo (air-ah
bay-lee-see-mo) it was beautiful! Mamma
told us they also have delle renne (del-lay ray-
nay) some reindeer who visit the Christmas
Candyland each year.
Many places have sfi late (sfee-lah-tay)
parades. A Filadelfi a (ah fi ll-ah-del-fee-ah) In
Philadelphia there is a big one with singers
and dancers. At the end Santa and Mrs. Claus
arrive, and he walks up the many steps of the
Art Museum and everyone is so happy! In
smaller towns you may hear cantanti di canti
natalizi (cahn-tan-tee d cahn-tee nah-tal-e-z)
carolers.
In Italy they celebrate some things that
people do here, but other things are different.
They have many mercatini di natale (mare-
kah-tee d nah-tah-lay) Christmas markets
where people can go to buy gifts and eat
holiday treats. This is the time of
year you can enjoy caldarroste
(cal-da-ro-stay) roasted chestnuts.
They are sold on street corners
and in the markets. Here Italians
will buy new pieces for their
nativity scenes and children can
have fun on rides in the bigger
markets. Family and friends will go
out together to visit either a living nativity
scene or one of the hundreds of hand crafted
presepi that are across the country. They are
beautiful, some are just a few pieces, but
others may have over a thousand pieces
that will show life as it was in other times.
Mamma told us she saw one displayed in the
back of an ambulance in Rome!
While children in Italy may visit Babbo
Natale they still wait anxiously for La Befana
to bring them gifts on January 6. We can tell
you about that next month!
In the meantime, however you celebrate
vi auguriamo un felice Natale (vee awe-gor-e-
ah-mo oon fel-e-chay Nah-tal-a) we wish you
a Merrry Christmas! IAH
Baptism, Confirmation
and Communion Gifts
Catholic Bibles • Books • Rosaries
Statues • Medals • Holy Cards
Music & Wholesome DVDs • Fontanini by Roman
550 S. Colonial Ave., Elsmere, DE 19805 • (302) 654-3232
Hours: Tue - Fri 10am - 4pm • Saturday 10am - 3pm • Closed Sunday & Monday