Page 21 - Italian American Herald - March 2024

ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
PER I BAMBINI
Spring into March celebrations that honor mamma and papà
By Maverick Cannavo
Darla and I abbiamo molto da fare (ah-be- ah-mo mol-toe da fa-ray) have a lot to do this month. On March 8 we are going to make
it a special day for our mamma because in Italy it is the Festa della Donna (fes-ta del-la doh-nah), celebrated in the United States and other countries around the world. We have asked papà to find her un mazzo di mimose (oon mah-zo d me-mo-se) a bouquet of mimosa flowers that we can give to her. Women in Italy are gifted with these flowers as a sign of appreciation. The flowers are a beautiful shade of yellow with a round shape which smells wonderful! We will be sure to sniff them before we give them to her come regalo (ko-may ray-gal-o) as a gift.
St. Patrick’s Day is another festa popolare
(fes-tah po-poh-lar-a) popular holiday in the United States in honor of San Patrizio. Even people who are not Irish like to celebrate questo giorno (kwes-toe jor-no) this day by dressing up in green and eating Irish food. There are many sfilate (sfee-lah-tay) parades in our area and across the country. Mamma told us there are activities for this holiday in Gettysburg so siamo sicuri (see-ah-mo see- kor-e) we are sure we will be able to watch a parade close to home.
Then it will be time to say thank you
to our papà on March 19. This is the day Italians and Italian Americans celebrate La Festa di San Giuseppe (la fes-tah dee sahn joo-zeh-pay) The Feast of St. Joseph which is also Father’s Day in Italy. Italian pastry shops make zeppole (zeh-po-lee) di San Giuseppe, a traditional Italian cream filled pastry for all to enjoy on this day.
We are eagerly waiting for spring which also begins on March 19 so we can spend more time outdoors. We love to play in the snow, but we can’t wait to roll around in the green grass and godere il sole (go-dare-a eel sole-a) enjoy the sun. We can annusare l’erba e fiori (ah-noo-sar-a lair-ba a fee-or-e) sniff
Pastry shops make zeppole for the Feast of St. Joseph, which is also Father’s Day in Italy. | ADOBE STOCK
the grass and flowers and we can watch the farmer next door sul suo trattore (sool sue-oh tra-tor-a) on his tractor as he turns over the ground and plants his crops.
We will start to see our bunny and deer friends come out and will be able to hear gli uccelli cantando negli alberi (ye ooh-chel-e cahn-tahn-do neh-ye al-bare-e) the birds singing in the trees. Mamma and papa will
start taking us to the parks again and we can get more pup cups at our favorite gelateria (geh-lah-tair-e-ah) ice cream place!
Finally, Pascua or Easter is celebrated this month and we know what that means. While we won’t be allowed to enjoy any cioccolati (cho-co-lah-tea) chocolates we can’t wait to receive our Easter baskets filled with special treats and more toys! IAH
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