The clattering of pots and pans mixed with the sound of frantic instruction calling and family bickering wakes me up. I slowly get up, noting its only eight o’ clock in the morning and walk towards the stairs to leave the basement, being careful not to step on any one of the 15 cousins sleeping down there as well. As I open the door and walk up the stairs it is as if I’m in a different place.The therapeutic chaos of the adults signifies the start of our holiday season. There is christmas music blasting, some family cleaning the house, others decorating, others cooking; tonight is the highly anticipated annual Metro Italian Christmas Eve dinner, hosted at one of my aunts and there is so much work to be done. This is a tradition as important …show more content…
Like every year, we have not seen each other since last Christmas eve and so there is always a lot to talk about, the interminable bond between us is apparent from the second the front door is opened. We make sure to sit in the living room next to the door to give a friendly greeting to anyone who shows up. A loud “hey!” from all the adults as well as a warm hug are the typical greetings for anyone who walks in. When my cousin Nico walks in he immediately makes note of the cheetah skin wrapped around the base of the tree, his greeting is different; there is no loud “hey!” and the hug is more somber. Choosing to repress any sadness on this day of joy, we continue on with our day. The talking slowly increases again, more and more laughter is heard and within five minutes everything is back to normal. There are an array of trays of lasagna and baked ziti, the Feast of the Seven Fishes, vegetables, salads, ice cream, cake, cookies – a typical Italian American festeggiare. The smell of all the fishes fresh from the ocean, the sound of Andrea Bocelli mixed with soft chatter, and the sight of snow blanketing the street and rooftops encompass the atmosphere of our “normal” Christmas Eve. As we all sit down at the massive table stretching from one side of the room to the other, we have fifty chairs around the table, one of them left empty on …show more content…
I continue to view our Italian background to be the main reason that Christmas Eve is the most joyful, exciting, and vital tradition we celebrate together. Because of the amount of people in our family, road trips or hotels are an over-zealous option. Despite all of the adversities we face and setbacks in our day-to-day lives, simply being able to enjoy each other’s company never ceases to relieve us. For as long as I can remember, Christmas Eve has always been my favorite night of the year because spending time with loved ones is better than any gift under the tree. To my family, this is the true meaning of Christmas. As we are all winding down, we decide to have one more nod to her; we put her favorite boots on her
Life in Italy is much different than life in the United States. Italians live at a much slower pace, than American’s and they have a desire to enjoy life instead of rushing through it as many American lifestyles exhibit (Zimmermann, K. (2015). The extended family is very important in Italy, whereas in the United States, the focus tends to be on the nuclear family, which includes mom, dad, and children (Zimmermann, 2015). The differences in Italian culture and American culture are vast and varied, but with a few comparable components to demonstrate similarities.
Christmas Eve dinner came about and it became evident that her family had just about taken mixed race to another level. She had a cousin, Rebecca, that was married with a child and their small family was white and Jewish (Senna 296). Danzy’s sister had three children that were half Pakistani and they lived in England (Senna 296). Her brother was married to a Chinese woman and they had a young daughter together (Senna 296.) Carla Latty, Anna’s orphaned daughter, was cohabitating with an Indian woman. Senna discovered that at this family dinner, some of them are blood related and are just meeting for the first time. She recognizes the history that they all share in some shape, form, or fashion. Yet, it is not a day of rainbows and lollipops. Danzy and her sister have hurt each other and there is tension. Her brother and his wife hide their infant in the bedroom upset that the other children present had infected their baby. Her cousin’s daughter has declared herself as a lesbian at the age of eleven. Despite all of the obstacles and hurdles her family has faced, Danzy considers the Christmas Eve dinner “a victory” (Senna 301). Danzy’s brother says that “Anybody who finds him offensive can get the […] out” about a gift given to his child (Senna 300). That was his way of approving the
While this invitation produced anxiety for every person that attended this meal, the toll that it took on my nephew was rather difficult to watch. His father chose to attend the day before Thanksgiving; but a half-hour before the scheduled 2 p.m. time for dinner, he let his son know that his girlfriend and her children had decided to come as well. While the adults scrambled to add additional seating, my nephew excitedly stood outside on the porch anticipating his guests’ arrival. An hour later, this little boy dejectedly wondered whether his father had changed his mind. When his guests finally arrived, we all ate an awkward, cold dinner, and my ex-brother-in-law whisked them all (including my nephew) away to his family’s Thanksgiving meal, which meant that my disappointed nephew never got to share the chocolate pie that he had helped make.
Gift-giving nowadays is no longer an act of kindness, but rather a political measure, taken to ensure one’s status with one’s acquaintances. While the general feeling of "goodwill towards men" still pervades the season, albeit filtered through television and municipal decorating projects, there is a great tension that precedes the actual Christmas holiday itself. I remember Christmases of my youth as enjoyable times, to be sure, but also as times when it was best to stay clear of my mother, who was inevitably in
In Keillor’s “A Wobegon Holiday Dinner,” he describes both the present day realities of family Thanksgiving as well as the past history of his family’s Thanksgiving. Each circumstance, in the present day holiday, is unthinkably different from the next, whereas...
Christmas is a holiday filled with tradition, family, and happiness, but what most people don’t know is that Christmas is celebrated all over the world, not just the United States. Latin American countries are especially passionate about Christmas. The way Hispanic people celebrate changes throughout each country. Each one has its own unique Christmas culture. In this essay I am going to write about some of these different countries, and tell how each one is similar and different in showing their Christmas spirit.
In "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a transformation as a result of his encounters with three ghosts and becomes a kind, happy, and generous man. His greedy, cruel, and grumpy demeanor is replaced seemingly overnight, but he doesn’t just wake up and decide to be nice. It takes three Spirits to change his outlook on life - The Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future. The Ghost of Christmas Past makes Scrooge begin to regret his selfishness, and the Ghost of Christmas Present begins to teach him about others. This second Ghost helps to make him realize that money doesn't buy happiness. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, however, teaches the most profound lesson of all: unless he changes, no one will care if Scrooge dies. Because of the Ghosts, by Christmas morning Ebenezer Scrooge is a completely different person from the man who went to bed on Christmas Eve.
I stepped out of the chilly November air and into the warmth of my home. The first snowfall of the year had hit early in the morning, and the soft, powdery snow provided entertainment for hours. As I laid my furry mittens and warm hat on the bench to dry, I was immediately greeted with the rich scent of sweet apple pie, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and the twenty-pound turkey my mother was preparing for our Thanksgiving feast.
It is Christmas Eve at my grandparent’s house. I am sitting around the table in the noisy dining room with my whole family. As the seven different fish dishes finish cooking, my grandfather begins to place each one on the table in front of us. My favorite Christmas Eve dish is the first to come out—linguine with clams. As my grandfather enters the room, my senses are suddenly overwhelmed with the smell of the homemade white sauce and the fresh shellfish. My grandfather slowly sets the bowl of linguine with clams in the center of the table and I can barely stop myself from diving right into it. Linguine with clams and the other fish dishes hold a religious significance for most Italians, but for me, these dishes are significant because of the quality time I spend eating them with my family.
What about other countries though? Is the Christmas season all about giving and receiving gifts? Are children in Spain rewarded by Santa with gifts and toys on Christmas Eve? In this essay we will look at what Christmas season means in Spain, and what traditions are prevalent in their culture. We will also look at the Christmas related traditions of Americans, and how those compare and contrast to those in Spain.
Today it seems as though Christmas has fallen victim to materialism and commercialization. Rather than it being a time of loving and giving, it has become a stressful season of greed. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, it is important for us to recognize the true reason of the season, and celebrate in a fashion that exemplifies that reason.
Right next to food, family is the most important thing in Italian culture. My mother was born and raised in Naples, Italy and lived with her mother and three siblings after her father passed away when she was only six years old. My mother and my grandmother had a very close bond, the same bond my mother and I share now. My grandmother was a very hands on type of mom my mother tells me. Like most mothers, her children were her pride and joy. My mother’s most vivid memories of her childhood involve my grandmother teaching her how to make tiramisu and lasagna. Practices my mother has now passed onto me. Aside from the cooking lessons, my mother also taught me what it means to be a women. Being independent, never giving up, and working for what
...” (Myers 119). I have, for as long as I can remember, been aware of the cultural winds. With each Italian tradition that my family embraces, we are fighting the winds of a more mainstream tradition that seeks presence in our home. But I am glad that we have fought these winds. I am glad that I did not spend my Christmases in the same way that many other children did. I am glad that I believed that my Christmas presents were left by La Befana while all the other kids believed they had come only from Santa Clause. I believe that living in America is about embracing difference. My family forces me to embrace difference through our Italian traditions each Christmas, and it has taught me how beautiful and valuable difference can truly be. Buon Natale!
Emma, Marissa and I are in charge of the making the lefse. This has been our job ever since we were little girls, becoming experts through all our years of experience. My grandma makes the most amazing food and always has enough to feed us for a week. After we stuff ourselves full of delicious, lasagna, salads, and hot dishes all made with love and while the adults lean back comfortably in their chairs, us kids go put on our pajamas and troop downstairs to open our gifts. The most memorable gift would be the ring my grandma gave me that used to be my great-grandmothers who died a couple days after my grandma turned fifteen. My great-grandma loved to travel and had a great passion for fashion, so this circle of metal with a little diamond in the middle and a floral pattern surrounding it, had been bought in California and has been in the family since. “Bang, bang, bang!” A huge pounding comes from the front door. Dogs bark, adults grin, and we race to open the creaky door. Santa Claus, eyes twinkling, dressed in red with coal-black boots, and swinging a sack over his right shoulder, steps inside. He plops down heavily; ringing merry bells and passes them off to David, my brother, telling him seriously to keep ringing them so Rudolf won’t fly away without him. With wide eyes, little David shakes the bells with such rigor that if Rudolf was in the North Pole he would be able to hear them. We each take a turn perching on his knee, hesitant at first but then opening up and telling him our age and that, “yes we have been really, really, really good this year.” As Santa’s beard tickles our chin as we lean in close for a picture and his big belly shakes as he laughs at the same time as you start to giggle. Then he opens his sack and pulls out gifts wrapped in colorful paper for each of us. With a few cookies for the road, crumbs in his beard and a
Ever since I could remember, I have spent Christmas at my grandmother’s house, a house which is full of comfort, warmth, and happiness. At Christmas, I have always been able to escape the cold and dark real world allowing myself to truly enjoy just several moments in time. These moments have left impressionable memories from my childhood making Christmas a holiday that is special to me and my family. It is a time for my family to get together, share stories, laugh, and even cry.