Catholic Influences in Italian Culture

Buon Natale (Merry Christmas)

Many Italians living in the United States observe the Catholic religion.They continue to participate in traditions surrounding the Christian holiday of Christmas. These traditions began many generations ago throughout the homeland.There are over 17 million Italian-Americans living in the U.S. The Northeast is home to most Italians in the U.S. In Conn., 18.6 percent of the population are of Italian heritage. Many of these Italians celebrate holiday traditions that have been passed on through the generations.

In the United States the most recognized holiday tradition is the Christmas tree. Throughout the Italian community the symbol of the season is the presepio (the manger). The manger symbolizes the birth of Jesus, and a baby Jesus is placed inside on Christmas morning. Maria Franchi of Orlando Florida has been putting up a presepio since she was young.

“Ever since I was little, I have has a Presepio in my house, said Franchi. It reminds you of that the Christmas season is about celebrating the birth of Jesus.”

A traditional Presepio. Photo from cancanova.com.

Another tradition is to cook and eat seven different types of fish on Christmas Eve. The traditionally prepared fish symbolize the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Sebastiano LaRosa of Conn. discusses his Christmas Eve Traditions.

“Every year my family and relatives get together and hold a huge feast on Christmas Eve, which it is usually held at my aunt’s house, said La Rosa. My aunt usually cooks all the fish that we will be eating for that feast. We prepare 7 fish to represent the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.”

On Christmas Day it is typical to go to mass either at midnight or in the morning. The holiday is celebrated with a large amount of food and the whole family gathers around the table. The day is filled with many different Italian dishes; most meals contain some form of pasta. Around the holidays, many Italian desserts are made. Some of the treats made for the season are struffoli (fried puffs dipped in honey), Pizzelle (thin cookie wafers), and Panettone (a sweet bread) .

Traditional Panettone

After eating, it is typical to play a popular Italian bingo game called tombola or play card games such as briscola and scopa.

Many people know the story of the epiphany and the three kings, but Italians have told an old folk story about la befana for centuries. La befana is an old woman who, as the story goes, was asked to follow the star by the three kings to see the birth of Jesus.  The befana declined the offer and was later asked to follow the star by a shepherd and again declined. Later, the befana decided to follow the star but she never found Jesus. Now, every year after Christmas she goes searching for Jesus and leaves every boy and girl she sees along the way a small toy if they behaved and leaves coal behind for those who misbehaved.

Although Italy is a world away from the United States many Italian Americans participate in traditions from the “old country” over the Christmas holiday season, bridging the gap created by the Atlantic Ocean.

Italian Christmas Traditions

Every culture has traditions surrounding major holidays. There are many Italians outside of Italy, that continue to celebrate traditions that began in the homeland. Each individual who participates and partakes in the Italian Christmas traditions has their own personal story and variations to share.

Saint Lucy
The Saint Lucy Society has been celebrating the life and death of St. Lucy for over 80 years. Alessandra Burgio Gugliotti speaks about the society, the saint, and her personal experiences.
Santa Lucia

Statue of St. Lucy at Saint Luke Parish in Hartford, Ct

 

Celebrating the Saints

Saints play a large role in Italian culture. They are celebrated on their feast day with a mass and a parade. This celebration of Saints continues today in both Italian and Italian-American culture.

Italian Saints and How they are Celebrated on Dipity.

Generation Gap!

This video is of local Italian-Americans explaining their degree of involvement in the community. It shows the differences in three generations of Italian-Americans.

Sense of Family and Community

This photo is from bleedingexpresso.com.

The Italian-American community in the United States is driven by a sense of family, your biological family and your adopted family (other Italians).  This sense of family and community is very strong. The older generations grew up solely around the community. This can be seen in the article “Growing Up Italian American” on the site ItaliaAmerica.org. The older generations did not think of themselves as American or Italian-American, they were Italians. They grew up in a time where the  culture was much like that in Italy. They lived in a solely Italian community, spoke Italian in the home, and bought their food from multiple markets.  They were immersed in the culture and they did not give it a second thought. The article “Italian-American Culture” on squidoo.com shows how the Italian Culture has influenced American life.

The younger generations have been raised in integrated neighborhoods. The values of the family and community seem to be becoming less of a priority through the generations. With families in the U.S. becoming busier by the moment, the ethnic community has been pushed to the background.

Hartford, Conn. was once a thriving center of Italian culture. Through the decades the community began to spread throughout the surrounding towns. Due to this spread into different communities many different societies and clubs were created. Instead of gathering around a few organizations, the community began to be pulled apart by regions, saints, and sport.

This abundance of societies has led to decreased attendance at events. The Americanization of the generations and the changing priorities of families have also led to this decline.

Many Italians are also angry with the way the younger generations are portraying themselves. TV shows such as “Jersey Shore” portray the younger generations as individuals whose sole concerns are tanning and partying.Teens today buy into the stereotypes of their culture rather than proving them wrong. Whether the community likes it or not the culture has begun to change.

The video below discusses life growing-up in an Italian-American community.

Purpose

The purpose of this blog is to attempt to strengthen the bond between the younger and older generations. Organizations such as NIAF help the community to stay connected through their local community and the national Italian population. The greater Hartford area has been the hub of Italian-American activities and gatherings in Connecticut for decades. There are many different societies and groups geared towards different aspects of the community. There are clubs that are directed towards different interests such as soccer or saints. Many societies have been dedicated to the different areas of Italy that members migrated from.

In recent years it seems as though these societies and clubs have been surviving on the participation of the older generations. The younger generations do not seem to be getting involved in these clubs. This blog will attempt to find out why.

Through observation, it seems that attendance at Italian events has declined. Many families used to attend these festa’s and other activities. These events featured Italian food, music, games and often a raffle.

Has the new guido obsession taken over what teens think of their culture?  Is an individual’s culture and history not as important to the teens and young adults of today?

The purpose of the blog is to attempt to bring the generations back together through the family and the community as a whole.

Why this Blog was Created

This blog was created to inform the greater Hartford Italian-American community of events and issues that have arisen within the community.  It seems, through observation that the community is driven mostly by the participation of the older generations. This blog will attempt to inform the younger generations of their culture and attempt to bring discussion on the issue. Why is culture so important to some and not others? Why doesn’t the younger generation seem interested in participating in their culture? What is being done to involve the younger generations? These are questions that will be addressed through this blog.

What societies are most involved in the Italian community in Connecticut? How are they involved with the community as a whole?

The state of Connecticut has a large population of Italians and has many different cultural societies.

Culture is an aspect of society that helps to connect a group of people. It allows one person to relate to others around them who have similar backgrounds, goals, and interests. The Italian culture is a rich one. It encompasses a long line of history, art, food, music, dance, and language. One of the formal definitions of culture is “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.” This is according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

NIAF, the National Italian-American Foundation works with the community in all states and works with the national government. They promote Italian culture and events throughout the United States.

There seems to be a need to strengthen the cultural and generational bonds in the Italian community. This blog seeks to show the issues that are present within the community and ways that they can be resolved. Lastly, this blog was created to attempt to push aside the stereotypes associated with being Italian. Italianaware.com discusses how Italians are portrayed by others and the media. The culture is rich and strong and the positive aspects are what should be passed down through the generations.