4 July 2008
The Fourth of July isn’t a holiday in Italy, but that doesn’t stop this American from celebrating with hamburgers, hot dogs and mmm, maybe even some apple pie (Mom’s here, remember?!).
To my fellow Americans, I wish you a happy, safe and fun holiday
and buon weekend a tutti!
20 May 2008
Even though I’m not in America any more, the end of May still means bright red poppies to me.
Yes, these in the fields around here, but I’m talking about the ones that remind me of the sacrifices veterans have made for you and me and how many of them still suffer today even while in the “care” of our veterans’ hospitals.
Every year around Memorial Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)’s Buddy Poppy Program and the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Program distribute millions of crepe paper poppies in exchange for contributions that benefit disabled and hospitalized veterans and their families.
Where do the poppies come from?
Why, the hospitalized veterans make these nine-piece wonders in “Poppy Shops,” gaining a small wage and also some physical and mental therapy.
What is history of the paper poppy?
During World War I, ever-resilient poppies grew and thrived in the war-torn battlefields of Belgium, inspiring this poem by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae:
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The symbol was picked up by Allied countries immediately after the war ended and paper poppies began being sold. In 1921, the Franco-American Children’s League sold French-produced poppies to benefit the children in areas of France and Belgium hit heaviest by the war.
When the Children’s League dissolved in 1922, the VFW took over the cause and two years later began the Buddy Poppy Program with veterans producing the poppies for the benefit of veterans and their families.
As much as I love the gorgeous wild, natural poppies that surround me, I’m still nostalgic for those paper beauties and all they represent.
So if you’re in America, can you do me a favor? Please make a contribution to the VFW or American Legion Auxiliary and get yourself a poppy.
That way you can remember too.
11 May 2008
2 May 2008
Yesterday was May 1, Labor Day or May Day in most of Europe (other countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand celebrate in either September or October).
It is a day to celebrate workers, especially all of those who came before us, fighting for rights like an eight-hour work day and safety regulations. Read more about the international holiday’s origins here and here.
Italy’s celebration is known as La Festa dei Lavoratori and actually has ancient roots in “Il Calendimaggio,” a holiday connected with agricultural cycles and still celebrated in some regions today.
Farmers and seasonal workers traditionally took the day off, ate, drank, and danced together on the first day of May, forgetting for a few hours the long days of hard work throughout the summer that awaited them.
In modern times, the day is more linked to the common worker, who, lest we forget, still needs a voice and representation in the political structures of every country. Italy, in particular, has a long way to go regarding worker’s safety with an average of nearly 1,400 deaths every year because of an industrial or workplace accident.
May we also remember those victims this weekend as well.
Since May 1 fell on a Thursday this year, Italians will make il ponte (a bridge) from the holiday to the weekend and take off today as well for a nice loooooong weekend.
Many Italians travel during the holiday; the Corriere della Sera estimates that 12 million cars will be on the road this weekend. Others, like P and me, stay at home and relax because hey, we have the mountains and the sea right at our doorstep all the time anyway.
So a relaxing weekend ahead for us it is.
What do you have planned?
Happy Labor Day Weekend to those celebrating
and buon weekend a tutti!
P.S. Check out Judy’s Pickles at Over a Tuscan Stove
for La Buona Cucina Americana!
25 April 2008
Today is one of Italy’s biggest holidays: la Festa della Liberazione or Liberation Day, celebrating the country’s liberation from fascism thanks to Allied troops at the end of World War II.
When I first arrived here, many of the older residents, upon finding out I was American, loved sharing their memories of American soldiers who marched into the village from over the mountain and handed out chocolates to the children.
Sixty plus years later, and they simply can’t forget what life was like under “Il Duce.” My neighbor Anna Maria still remembers a children’s rhyme that lamented days without bread and nights without light: “u jornu senza pane, la notte senza luce.”
Liberation Day celebrations in Italy are two-fold–one part is to honor those who fought the fascist regime and the other is to protest against tyranny and oppression throughout the world.
Not coincidentally, Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and Champion of Change Beppe Grillo has chosen today to hold the second V-Day to encourage “freedom of information in a free state.” That V stands for “vaffanculo” and tells oppressors and criminals in positions of power in Italy what they can go do to themselves.
Now go celebrate!
And don’t forget to check out Cherrye’s Buttermilk Biscuits
for La Buona Cucina Americana!
Buon weekend a tutti!
