Christmas Eve in Italy (Vigilia di Natale in Italia)
Christmas Eve in America is celebrated with pagan rites, Santa Clause, Reindeer, Tree trimming, and last minute shopping in preparation for the birthday of Jesus the Christ. In Italy it is a Holy...
View ArticleLet There Be Peas on Earth
In the 17th century, King Louis XIV of France elevated the humble pea by ordering it to be placed, en masse, on the dishes served at the parties in his most elegant palace. Tasty snow peas were...
View ArticleHappy Mother’s Day (Buona Festa Della Mamma)
In the United States and other countries around the world, a day is set aside to honor motherhood. In the U.S. and many other nations, that day is the second Sunday in May. Regardless of the...
View ArticleRemembering the Greatest Generation
To the best of my knowledge, my grandfather Rocco Petruzzelli was born in Italy in 1865. In 1896, he left his homeland and the village of Castelluccio Valmaggiore near Foggia / Apulia, Italy and set...
View ArticleOf Roses, Thorns, and Stevedores
He’d inadvertently witnessed a Mob slaying when his wife was eight months pregnant. Under cover of night, taking virtually no possessions, they fled New York City for Boston, grateful to be escaping...
View ArticleWhere Angels Fear to Tread
Today, my mother turned 86 years young. I called her to wish her a happy birthday and somehow, we got onto the topic of politics. History has taught me nothing, for it’s impossible to have a serious...
View ArticleToasting a Healthy New Year
My little niece, now 22 years old, has always run to extremes. In her academic career, she’s consistently ranked among the top 5% of her class, even in Physics, her “bear” subject. Jaimie* even...
View ArticleArrotini (Grinders)
A newspaper article that appeared in the November 10, 2011 edition of The Italian Tribune newspaper reminded me of my grandfather, the patriarch of our family. Arrotini was the name of the article....
View ArticleEaster, Italian Style
Too many years after I’ve supposedly grown up, I still crave a loaded Easter basket as Lent draws closer to the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Maybe I never did grow up. Or maybe I’ve just had...
View ArticleSo You Want to Be an American?
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shores. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the...
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