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Christmas is a time for celebration, but how we celebrate has changed over the centuries. How do you celebrate Christmas? Do you embrace the more secular version embodied by Santa Claus with his big bag of presents, or the more religious one in which gifts are given in recognition of God’s gift to us of His Son Jesus Christ? One tradition I embrace is the Christmas story told by Mario Avignone who is the originator of this column. Fr. Pierini asked him decades ago to start writing Petals as a way of keeping Roseland alive in our hearts. In my …

“The olive is the land’s most precious fruit but it cannot be harvested without effort. The harvesters work for 7 to 8 hours a day, and in the colder seasons, the effort is tremendous because the job needs to be done quickly. There are direct orders from the owner who urges them because the fruit cannot stay on the ground. Otherwise, it will rot.” In his 1967 documentary “Tempo di raccolta,” Luigi Di Gianni follows Calabrians as they work in the groves collecting olives for the annual harvest. The majestic beauty of the trees, the equal majesty of generations of …

Between 1893 and 1940, hundreds of Italians from Sassano, a small commune in the region of Campania in Southern Italy, settled on Armour Avenue (now known as Federal Street) between 47th and 51st streets in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. My sojourn began in 2002 when my oldest daughter, Elizabeth, received an assignment from her eighth grade social studies teacher, Dan Wall, to “Find out which ancestors came to America, when and why.” My father’s sister, Rosemary Cavallone, and her husband, Rosario di Miele, told the tale of Francesco “Thethen Cheek” Cavallone and Rosa Libretti, who were among the first …

Between July 1, 1847, and July 14, 2021, 5,614 U.S. stamps were issued. Among them, eight Italians and 21 Italian Americans were depicted. Thirty showed Christopher Columbus. He initially appeared on two stamps in 1869. In 1893, a set of 16 stamps commemorating the discovery of America was released, 12 of which portrayed Columbus. In 1992, the Postal Service issued a modified version of one of the 1869 stamps; reissued the set of 16 with the date changed from 1892 to 1992; and released a new set of four stamps for the quincentennial of Columbus’ first voyage. The first Italian …

Most U.S. markets are seeing increases in sales prices. In some cases, homes will sell in as little as a few hours. That’s not the case everywhere. though, as homes in some areas are going for lower than asking price. For the most part, were seeing an increase in prices in suburban areas and a drop in cities. Because of COVID, people value their space and with an increase in remote jobs, many people don’t need to go into the office more than once or twice a week. People don’t know what the future holds so they want to be …

I am reminded every day at work that my memory isn’t what it used to be. When I was a kid, I could remember which baseball card numbers I needed to complete the set of 660 Topps cards. I didn’t need a written list. I guess they would call that a photographic memory. Now, I leave my house without remembering to comb my hair! Or I get in my car and try to start it only to discover that I left my keys on the table! There’s a term for the status of my current memory, but I can’t remember …

This year’s Labor Day weekend celebrations were looked forward to with great anticipation and, though the weather wasn’t exactly as we had hoped, all events were successful. For me, the eventful weekend began on Sunday when the first Sunday of the month walking tour took place. More than 50 individuals participated. The group was so large that it was split into three, each with their own tour guide, proving Pullman’s emergence as a “must see” Chicago sight. What made this tour group special for me was that my friends Diane De Re and Sonia Carli, along with their four friends …

While browsing the web recently, I stumbled upon a few old and, in some cases, really old Italian horror films. These movies take “creepy” to a whole new level. Some are pretty ridiculous by today’s standards, but they featured cutting edge technology when they were released. As long as you have the stomach for it, you’ll probably find them entertaining and quite different from standard American fare. There are two contemporary Italian films at the end to bring you full circle. For straight up horror, check these three out: “Bloody Pit of Horror” (Il Boia Scarlatto) is a 1965 Italian …

How to Say, “I like…” in Italian with “Mi Piace” In a previous blog on this topic, Using Piacere to say, “I like it!” we learned: The Italian verb piacere literally means “to be pleasing.” Italians use this verb when they want to express the idea that they like something. It is how Italians say, “I like it!” It should first be noted that piacere has an irregular conjugation. Then, it is important to understand that the verb piacere works  differently than most other Italian verbs that have an -ere ending. In effect, the subject of the sentence that uses the verb piacere …

Let’s continue our series about Italian prepositions with the essential Italian preposition “da.” The Italian preposition da can be translated into the English prepositions “from” and “by.” It serves as an essential link between Italian nouns, is used in Italian phrases that describe time in a complex way, and is also integral to many common expressions. If we learn how to use the Italian preposition da, we will truly sound like a native Italian!   Use “Da” to Say Where You are From One of the most frequent questions asked during polite conversation is, “Where are you from?” We learned how to …