MY FAMILY AND THE ITALIAN CULTURE

In my family we follow the same culture as Italians across the globe, yet we do some things differently making us unique. Our culture is what brings us together frequently in the form of celebration. Yearly, my family celebrates Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter, along with many other holidays, which is similar to many other cultures. When I asked my Mom what we do differently I was informed that we also celebrate name days. “In the Italian Calendar each day of the year celebrates a different name”, said my mom. “Every name is in honour of a saint,

signifying the name’s importance and its relation to a saint” (Patricia Banks). Along with name days, there is Good Friday and Christmas Eve in which many Italians across the world don’t eat meat and only eat fish. “This has been passed down throughout Italian heritage”, said my mom in a conversation, yet my Nonna, seems to think it is related to religion.  My family in specific, participates in picnics and gatherings whether with one another or, involving other Italian families.  We participate in an Italian gathering called the Sant Andrea. This is a celebration of the patron saint where my Nonno was born. Many Italian families gather annually to reunite and enjoy various activities and foods in celebration of Sant Andrea. In the Italian culture, the preserving of vegetables is also important as it is passed down from generation to generation. My family, along with many others, make tomato sauce with homemade tomatoes. We usually cut up about 8 bushels of tomatoes which makes enough sauce to last a year.

This is the usual size of a bushel my family Would use to make the sauce. (Picture from http://eatatkellys.blogspot.ca/2011/10/canning-tomatoes.html)

 

My Nonna and other relatives work very hard to prepare this each year. The Italian community is very close and family oriented.   We enjoy large family gatherings, particularly weddings where there is an abundance of food, desserts and dancing.  One thing is for sure…you will never leave an Italian wedding hungry.   I enjoy the Italian culture very much and look forward to carrying on the traditions in future generations

This is the typical layout at an Italian wedding. As seen here, there is no shortage of food whatsoever. (Picture from https://www.pinterest.ca/explore/catering-buffet)