{"id":178,"date":"2012-01-08T21:57:26","date_gmt":"2012-01-08T21:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sandralangston.com\/?p=178"},"modified":"2012-01-22T11:34:39","modified_gmt":"2012-01-22T11:34:39","slug":"fostering-a-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sandralangston.com\/?p=178","title":{"rendered":"Fostering a tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

My children, who will shortly have both feet planted firmly in adulthood, always had to make do with my accounts of celebrating various festivities in the United States. \u00a0They never had the chance, until recently, to experience an American Halloween, or Thanksgiving, or a Fourth of July \u00a0in the United States. \u00a0 It isn’t easy carrying on a tradition in isolation, but I did my best, \u00a0and I am confident that our bittersweet memories of my attempts to instill American memories in absentia will be fondly remembered.<\/p>\n

As Halloween neared every year, I would begin seeking out a pumpkin to carve. \u00a0Most pumpkins in Italy are the type which are flattish and have loads of thick flesh, and are therefore \u00a0difficult to carve. \u00a0But at my special request, \u00a0the greengrocer would eventually procure me a round one, maybe two, on which \u00a0the boys and I could practice our creativity. \u00a0Messes were made. \u00a0Candy was furtively purchased.<\/p>\n

With approaching dusk, we would prepare, letting the boys dress up as they saw fit; a cowboy, or a ninja, or some hybrid version of a soldier. \u00a0I used \u00a0a small bungalow which served as my studio, about forty yards from the house, \u00a0and I would position myself there with a bowl of candy while my husband stayed at the main house with his bowl. \u00a0Lights were turned off, and the jack-o-lanterns glowed as the boys rushed breathlessly back and forth in the dark, gradually filling their bags with candy and treats. \u00a0The doorbell must be rung each time! \u00a0What a surprise to find mom or dad again every time \u00a0the door opened, and my boys were nothing if not sporting about the absurdity of this little farce. \u00a0After all, there was candy! \u00a0 Of course this artificial creation of Halloween filled me with a kind of desperate nostalgia, because during these years I simply did not know if they would ever have the genuine experiences which, for me, had been such a memorable and integral part of my childhood. \u00a0And they were growing up fast.<\/p>\n

There was general consternation among our friends because back in those years, most were not \u00a0familiar with Halloween. \u00a0 In the \u00a0early nineties, when the idea was beginning to catch on, the few kids who dared to ring buzzers and ask at condominiums and apartments around town were often met with scowls and outright hostility. \u00a0Children would have to be careful that their requests of “dolcetto o scherzetto<\/em>” weren’t met with a shower of profanity, a swinging broom, \u00a0or even pebbles thrown from a balcony! \u00a0Kids were often chased away by angry old-timers, scandalized by the encroachment, yet again, \u00a0of America on their sound Italian traditions.<\/p>\n

This is changing rapidly today, as Halloween is celebrated with great gusto. \u00a0The population of the town is divided unevenly between the many who love an excuse to party for any reason, and the few who resent “commercial holidays which exist only to make money” being foisted upon them by stores. \u00a0The tremendous rise in Chinese imports may also have played a role in the speed at which Halloween was introduced. \u00a0And of course there is America, ever present, \u00a0always ready to offer another “americanismo<\/em>” for no good reason. \u00a0 St. Valentine’s day has been borrowed, repackaged by American culture, and re proposed complete with cards, heart-shaped chocolate boxes, and petulant girlfriends expecting to score something shiny. \u00a0 If I could express my point of view simply, I would say that their \u00a0resentment is equaled by my own at having \u00a0had “my” \u00a0traditional holiday \u00a0hijacked for these very same, highly commercial, \u00a0reasons. \u00a0I cannot easily accept the idea that the festivity was somehow forced upon an innocent culture. \u00a0 \u00a0Now, the festivities of \u00a0Halloween play a bigger role every year in Italy, with themed parties, invitation-only balls, \u00a0and children ringing doorbells. \u00a0 It has been adopted in record time, and yes, sales are good. \u00a0 \u00a0Fewer die-hard traditionalists object every year to its observance. \u00a0Jack-o-lanterns shine from windows and the balconies of apartment blocks.<\/p>\n

It is a strange feeling, as an isolated American, seeing the adoption and growth \u00a0of a traditional holiday, \u00a0as it morphs into something similar yet different, tailored and modified to fit another culture. \u00a0I suppose Thanksgiving is safe from being franchised, as I don’t think the Italians could justify celebrating the survival of Protestants in the New World, although the\u00a0Cristoforo Colombo<\/em>\u00a0connection is always a possibility. \u00a0 Hundreds of thousands of immigrants to \u00a0the United States must have a special feeling in their hearts about it I am sure. \u00a0 \u00a0Every year I have prepared my best version of turkey and dressing, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. \u00a0 \u00a0It is amusing to me that there are friends in Bernalda \u00a0who insist I make them up a plate of this Thanksgiving food every year because they love the unusual flavors. \u00a0At Halloween, I have been consulted about pumpkin carving and the best methodology for covering the most territory during the evening. \u00a0My sons instructed their friends about how gaining entrance to one large condominium could make or break the night’s haul.<\/p>\n

I think my boys have absorbed these traditions seamlessly, and they happily participate now as if they had been living as Americans \u00a0all along. \u00a0 \u00a0 I suppose I can say that having done my best to instill these family traditions in my kids, it will be up to them now to carry on, wherever they may decide to live. \u00a0 I foresee them bringing the\u00a0Befana<\/em>\u00a0to Christmas, celebrating their saints’ name days, and \u00a0observing \u00a0April 25, the liberation of Italy from the fascists, \u00a0as an important date for both their cultures. \u00a0Along with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter’s various manifestations, all are important to a solid understanding of our cultural traditions. \u00a0Hopefully strong roots make \u00a0for a sturdier tree.<\/p>\n

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“Out of the Cage” \u00a0mixed media on paper, 2000<\/p>\n

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