Italians and Food Continued

I would like to continue to talk about Italians and Food. Besides freshness, quality of food and taste, a deeper aspect to the Italian food tradition is deeply rooted in religion. At Christmas and Easter, Italians celebrate with some basic dishes, breads, dessert, and wines that capture Italy’s Judeo-Christian roots and its rich history with the Catholic Church especially. The concept of breaking Bread as symbolic of the Sacrifice of the Mass is part and parcel of the breaking of the bread and the drinking of wine in daily life as well as in a more grand scale for Natale and Pasqua. Preparation of meals for these religious holidays is not only a tradition involving family and taste but a fundamentally spiritual one as well. Many Italian traditions are deeply rooted in Catholicism. Devotion to one’s family is one of those traditions. Family is connected to the concept of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We [Italians] try to emulate that love in our familial lives. We equate love for family with Christ’s love for humanity, a love that sacrifices and endures for those we love. Consequently, mothers like my dear mother worked very hard every day to prepare a beautiful meal for us from scratch with love and sacrifice. The careful and time-consuming process of preparing food now becomes a kind of reenactment of Christ’s sacrifice and love for us. These religious principles are deep at the heart of Italian identity. Therefore, in my cultural lessons on Italian food, I always highlight that modern-day fast food is deleterious to society on many different levels. Italian food identity is cultural, historical, spiritual, and even philosophical in nature: Everyday life is filled with our cultural gastronomic identity. It is a ritual for us that is very important. We have to eat together as a family all the time. We need to eat wholesome food for our bodies that we respect as temples of God. We therefore, demand that our food be fresh, the best quality, with the eating of many fruits and vegetables every day. We do not generally like fast food for the many reasons I have just described. We revert to the ancients and humanists and then by the Judeo-Christian values and then by Renaissance man’s quest for exquisite eating which Catherine De Medici spread to France and then to the rest of the western world. Our cuisine is treated as an Art. It is connected to family and therefore, it is very individual. Each family has its own recipes that reflect Italian culture in very complementary ways. Italians have wonderful casual trattorias that are divine but they also have elegant fine dining in restaurants, but what makes eating such an Epicurean delight is the charm and warmth of the Italians as they serve it because the desire to share it so animatedly is what people remember about them so vividly. Traditions surrounding food and cultural identity are inseparably linked at the most basic level for most Italians. Italians also value and take pleasure from carefully prepared food. We as Italians are very social beings and we love pleasurable things; and good food is one of the best pleasures in life for us when prepared with love and care. Producing quality food is an important duty of the woman in the Italian household and is one that she takes a high amount of pride in. Today, men as well participate in this very important aspect of life. My husband does a nice job to help in this area of our marriage and family life. Will Fast food threaten Italian tradition and cultural identity? For me, fast food is a small threat because Italians will always, to some extent retain their love for tradition and for family that is connected with eating if [they] remember that the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine at the table is a spiritual act that reminds us of the sacrifice of the mass. If Italians can look to the past and hold onto their traditions as only they can do, fast food will not disturb the Italian identity in the long run. If, however, the Italian people ignore their traditions and cultures, their identity is destined to be twisted by the epidemic of fast food, as so many other cultural identities already have been. I have been so blessed to receive and experience my loving parent’s traditions and values “A Tavola” and I hope to continue them with my family and share them with all who come my way. Alla prossima, Dorina