Page 15 - Italian American Herald - October 2020

ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
THE HALLOWEEN LESSON
OCTOBER2020 | ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM 15
At the time of this writing, it was not clear how Halloween would be going down this year. Only time will tell. Nonetheless, taking the high road of optimism, for those anticipating Halloween happening, we will present a lesson on Halloween all’italiana. Contrary to years past, Halloween has increasingly become a big celebration in Italy. Although it is regarded by some as another invasion of American culture into Italy, its origins go back to Europe and the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated Nov. 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Now getting back to modern times and the secular, community-based events characterized by child- friendly activities such as trick-or-treating, this lesson is for those of you who celebrate Halloween and want to throw some Italian into the mix.
Here are some common seasonal expressions in Italian. Buon Divertimento! (Enjoy!)
General Words and Terms
Halloween .......................................................... La Vigilia d’Ogni Santo Pumpkin ............................................................ Zucca*
Let’s party! .......................................................... Festeggiamo!
Let’s carve the Pumpkin!..................................... Intagliamo la zucca! We dress up in costume...................................... Indossiamo un costume Black cat............................................................. Il gatto nero
Skeleton ............................................................. Lo scheletro
Ghost ................................................................. Il fantasma Bat...................................................................... Il pipistrello Spider................................................................. Il ragno
Spiderweb .......................................................... La ragnatela Autumn.............................................................. Autunno
Mask .................................................................. La maschera Werewolf............................................................ Lupo mannaro Pumpkin pie....................................................... La crostata di zucca** Vampire.............................................................. Il Vampiro
Candy ................................................................ La caramella
Candied apple. ................................................... La mela caramellata** Apple cider......................................................... Il sidro di mela
Witch ................................................................. La strega***
Bones of the dead ............................................... Ossa di morte****
*Zucca derives from the Italian word “zucchina” (squash or courgette) used to best define our American pumpkin associated with the fall season. In its purest form “zucca” as in the phrase “testa di zucca,” refers to person who lacks intelligence and/or common sense. However, for the purpose of describing the pumpkin, removing the “hin” from” zucchina,” gives the meaning of a large squash, which is what a pumpkin really is.
**These fall dessert delicacies haven’t caught on yet in the “old country,” but given the path to acceptance hot dogs, fries, and hamburgers have taken, it won’t be long before these items, too, will be available at the neighborhood “supermercato.”
***Unfortunately, the use of the witch symbolism at Halloween has also
been included in Italian celebrations. Unfortunate in that the famous witch,
La Befana, the good Epiphany Witch is slowly taking a back seat to the Santa Claus as the gift giver of the Christmas Holiday Season. Equating witches to the spooky mystique of Halloween, might be another step away from the beautiful Italian celebration of Epiphany.
****These are Italian seasonal cookies. Kids as well as adults who prefer the religious “Day of the Dead” (Festa di Tutti Morteiover Halloween find their sweet treat in this traditional Italian favorite.
This month’s proverb
This month’s ancient Roman proverb celebrates the season of wine making, la vendemmia, and enjoying a fine wine. It also might be interpreted as too much of a good thing could really be bad for some people.
Latin: In vino veritas. Italian: La verita’ è nel vino.
Literally translated: In wine there’s truth.
Means: Wine brings out the truth even in the biggest of liars.
This month’s falso amico
It is “cesto” which does not mean chest in Italian. It means basket. Chest in Italian as refers to the human anatomy is “petto.”
Surnames and Their Origins
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.
Just for this month, we turn out attention to Italian surnames that begin with the letter “C,” and for a special reason. Since October is the month that Italian Americans celebrate Columbus Day and it is the month officially recognized as Italian Heritage Month, we will look at an array of given names and surnames derived from the famous navigator’s name, Christopher Columbus, in Italian Cristoforo Columbo.
The English rendition of Colombo, Columbus, is as it would have
been written in ancient Rome. The word Columbus means dove in
Latin. Because the Latin –us ending becomes – o in Italian, his Italian name becomes Colombo and found on any Italian legal document bearing his name. As a surname, it started
as being associated with merchants that raised and sold doves and then passed it on as a surname to their descendants. The spread of forms of Colombo as a given name is attributed to the religious association of the dove as the symbol of the “Holy Spirit.” It became a term of endearment and love, like the English term “dear” and subsequently people began naming their children Colombina, Columbella.
Getting back to the surname Colombo, over the centuries it and its related surnames have spread throughout Italy, some forms being analogous to a region. Here are just a few: Colomba, Columbo, Colombro, Colombani, Colombetti, Colombrino, Colombini, Colombazzi.
Columbus’ first name Christopher means Christ-bearer. It was used
by early Christians as a way of expressing that they carried Christ in their hearts. By the Middle Ages, literal interpretations of the name’s etymology led to legends about a St. Christopher who carried the young Jesus across a river. He had come to be regarded as the patron saint of travelers.
Given that Latin came into usage centuries before Christ’s birth, the word or name Christopher does not trace roots to Latin. However, once Emperor Constantine issued the “Edict of Milan” in 313 A.D. declaring Christianity legal and official in the Roman Empire, the word Christopher began to see a spread of its Latinized and Italianized versions. Given
that Italian would never use a ph combination to get an f sound, and h in Italian in cases is optional, in Italian the word and given name usage, evolved into Cristofaro.
As for its current-day presence
in Italy, Colombo is the seventh
most common surname in Italy. It
is registered with the Bureaus of Statistics in all 20 regions. However, it is most common in the Lombardia region, not Christopher Columbus’ native Liguria. Liguria ranks third after second-ranking Piedmont. It
is least common in Abruzzo. The
six surnames in order that are more common than Colombo are Rossi, Russo, Ferrari, Esposito, Bianchi, and Romano.