Page 18 - Italian American Herald - December 2019

18 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | DECEMBER 2019 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN&SIMPLE
Natale all’italiana
Unlike the United States, which generally recognizes Thanksgiving as the day that ushers in thenation’sChristmasholidayseason,“theseasonopener”inItalycanvary. Dependingwhere in Italy you are, it can be anywhere from Dec. 1 when advent begins to Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. For the most part the Feast of Immaculate Conception (l’Immacolata Concezione) is the most recognized day as the season’s beginning. Though a Catholic holy day, it is also recognized as a national Italian holiday, with all public offices and schools closed.
The second most popular day for welcoming in the Christmas seasons in Italy is the Feast of Saint Nicholas (La Festa di San Nicola). In areas where he is venerated, it is Dec. 6, when age-old traditions are played out to honor him and ring in the season, the best-known being that on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, children place their shoes by a fireplace (vicino il focolare), or under their bed (sotto il letto). The next morning the children find their shoes filled with little presents from the great saint.
From the season’s onset to the last day of the season Jan. 6, the Epiphany (l’Epifania), other
Christmas-related holidays take place Dec. 13, Festa di Santa Lucia; Dec. 24, La Vigilia di Natale; Dec. 26, Festa di Santo Stefano; Dec. 28, Festa degl’Innocenti; and Dec. 31, La Festa
di San Silvestro or La Vigilia di Capo d’Anno. Some Italians still hold the tradition of the Festa del Candelora on Feb. 2 when they take down the presepio. Another day, though not a holiday per se, is Dec. 16, known as La Novena di Natale. Novena, Latin for the ordinal number, ninth,indicatesthenine=dayperiodpriortoChristmasDay. Activitiesbegininfullforceto especially the visit to the presepi by the zampognari to serenade il Bambino Gesu..
This month’s falso amico:
This month’s falso amico is simpatia. It does not mean sympathy as related to condolence. Sympathy at the time of offering condolences in Italian is condolianze. The word simpatia translates in English as gracefulness or niceness.
The management and staff of The Italian-American Herald wish all our readers and dear friendsMerryChristmasandHappyNewYear– auguranoatuttiinostrilettoriecariamici Buon Natale e Buon Anno Nuovo.
Surnames and Their Origins
Let’s look at some ways to greet at this season:
Buon Natale
Buon Capo d’Anno or Buon Anno Nuovo
Buone Feste
Vocabulary with religious significance:
I Re Magi
La Sacra Famiglia
Presepio or presepe
I Pastori
Special seasonal days:
Festa di Santa Lucia
La Vigilia di Natale
La Festa di Santo Stefano
La Vigilia di Capo d’Anno or Festa di San Silvestro.
Festa degl’Innocenti Festa del Candelora General seasonal terms: Babbo Natale Zampognari
Pupazzo di neve L’Albero di Natale Tradtional Foods: Il cenone L’anquilla
Il polpo
Il pesce Torrone
Il panettone Panforte
This month’s proverb:
Merry Christmas Happy New Year Happy Holidays
The Three Wise Men The Holy Family Nativity scene
The shepherds
Feast of Saint Lucy
Christmas Eve
Saint Stephan’s Day aka. Boxing Day
New Year’s Eve or
The Feast of Saint Silvester
Feast of the Holy Innocents Candlemas
Santa Claus or Father Christmas Bagpipers
Snowman
Christmas tree
The Christmas Eve Dinner Eel
Octopus
Fish
Traditional nougat candy
A traditional style raisin bread traditional chewy Italian dessert containing fruits and nuts
Italian-American Herald
Italy having a long history of being mostly a nation of devout Roman Catholics, it not uncommon to find Italian surnames that have some connection to the Christmas holiday season. In this month’s issue, we thought that we might select some Italian surnames that have derived from the theme of Christmas. Some can be found in large numbers, while others have so few numbers that it’s a miracle there were records available with which to do this month’s column. We begin with the most obvious and the most prevalent.
NATALE – This surname Natale, from which the English word natal is derived, actually is the Italian word for Christmas.
It is the surname related to Christmas
that is most prevalent in Italy. It’s easy to understand why the word natale evolved into meaning Christmas, but the only logical reason seems to be the extreme devotion to Christmas by the ancestors of the modern-day Natale families and also can be attributed to having an ancestor born on Christmas Day. It is present in all of Italy’s 20 regions. The surname is most prevalent in Campania and least registered with
vital statistics in Valle d’Aosta. Variations: NATALIZIO, NATALELLO.
CAPODANNO – This surname means New Year. It must derive from an ancestor born on New Year’s Day and then from a nickname given to that ancestor, it trickled down the line to modern-day Capodanno families. From the small number of Italian
families with that surname, not many people were born in the past on New Year’s Day in Italy. It is registered with Vital Statistics in only 15 regions. It is mostly found in Campania. The regions where it is not present are Calabria, Umbria, Molise, Valle d’Aosta, and Le Marche.
MAGI– Thissurnameisaderivativeof the Italian word for the wise men, which is magi. The word is most often applied to i Re Magi referring to the three wise men. The word in the non-religious sense means wise men. So, the surname today may derive from ancestors who were considered the sages of their town. Then again it might also derive from an ancestor born on Epiphany. This surname is registered with vital statistics in 16 regions. It is most prevalent in Toscana and least found in Abruzzo.
SATURNO– Thisnamemeans
Saturn, but not in the sense of the planet, but rather a god in Roman mythology.
He was described as a god of generation, dissolution, plenty, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. Saturn’s mythological reign was depicted as a golden age of plenty and peace and for whom
the Saturnalia festival was named. The Saturnalia was held in mid-December as an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the god Saturn. Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas. This surname is registered with vital statistics in 18 regions. It is most prevalent in Campania. It is
not registered with vital statistic offices in Abruzzo or Valle d’Aosta.
WHO ARE YOU? Readers who wish to research their surnames can go to these websites: https://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ and https://cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.
Italiano: La pera matura cade sola. English literal: A ripe pear will fall by itself. English figurative: Everything in its own time.
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