Lent has begun, and though few observe it in this modern age, it's supposed to be a itme of spiritual renewal during which people renounce rich foods and meats, not as a penance, but to show respect for Jesus's sacrifice on the Cross, and to share the hardships the poor have to deal with year round. As one of the nuns who served John Paul II observed, for the devout Lent is actually a period of j…
Italian menu suggestions and ideas for the holiday season. Italian Christmas menus.
People rarely associate Judaism with Italy, probably because the Rome has hosted the seat of the Catholic Church for close to 2000 years. Jews arrived long before Peter and Paul, however. Indeed, Jewish traders built one of the first (if not the first) synagogues outside of the Middle East in Ostia Antica during the second century BC. Much was alas lost in WWII, but Italian Jewish communities are slowly rebuilding, and maintaining the traditions, which differ in many ways from the Ashkenazim.
Italy has a long Jewish tradition, with many dishes to celebrate Queen Esther's courage.
Valentino was, according to legend, a Christian priest who was consigned to a Roman noble by the Emperor Claudius. He cured the noble's daughter's blindness, at which point the family converted and Claudius had them all executed. Valentino first, and on the eve of his execution he wrote the girl a letter, signing it "from your Valentine." After his death a pink almond tree, symbol of abiding love, blossomed near his grave. A beautiful testament for the most romantic of days.
Many parts of Italy celebrate Christmas Eve with a fish-based dinner, a tradition that lives on in immigrant communities as the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Here are some Italian ideas for the meal.
Though people wouldn't think so, given the presence of the Vatican, Italy has always had a significant Jewish population -- the urban Roman Jewish community at the time of Tiberius (14-37 AD) is estimated to have been 60,000 strong, and many Jews fleeing persecutions elsewhere in Europe settled in the Peninsula during the Renaissance; Ferrara, Venice, and Rome, among other cities had flowering communities.
Italians don't celebrate Thanksgiving per se, perhaps because the growing season never stops: even in the midst of winter there's something to harvest, broccoli raab in the south, or kale and cabbage in the north. Of course Italians are happy to celebrate any holiday, and here are some ideas to add to a Thanksgiving meal.
For the vigil of Yom Kippur it's customary to serve an abundant, unspiced meal. To break the fast, sweets with coffee or tea, followed shortly thereafter by a light meal.
A traditional Tuscan Christmas dinner, with a hearty soup followed by boiled meats, roasts, and much much more.
Dalmatia, in what is now Ex Yugoslavia, was once Venetian, and many of the people were Italian. They were forced to leave during World War II, but their descendents are maintaining the traditions.
The Neapolitan Christmas tradition is one of the richest and most glorious in Italy, beginning with a fish-based Christmas Eve feast and continuing through Santo Stefano, the 26th.
Around Altamura, a town in the mountainous highlands of Puglia, they say, "Quanne venue Natale for a fore u castagnére" -- Come Christmas, the Castagnaro stands outside, meaning that it's the time of year when those who harvest the chestnuts from the trees in the mountains come down into town to set up their braziers and stands. And then there's the crèche, and the prayers of the children, the songs and rimes with which they greet the priest who comes to bless the home...
