The following was told to me by my informant. Main piece: “It’s called the feast of the seven fishes, it is an Italian tradition. A lot of my friends do it too, but there’s a lot of variations depending on what region you are from. Every Christmas Eve, we did this and it was led… Continue Reading »
Conext: The following informant, T, is a 56 yr. old married mother of three. She comes from a large Italian family. She explains to me the alternative names she and her entire extended family use for vagina (culinta/cullie) and penis (ginkle/ginks). The informant also sings me a song she created when her daughter was a… Continue Reading »
Interviewer: Is there any fairy tales, legends or myths, you have learned from your Italian side of the family? LC: Yes, I know one called the “ass that lays money very well”. So the story goes that there was a very poor woman who lived only with her young son. When she and her son… Continue Reading »
Interviewer: Do you have any other Italian folktales? LC: Yes another one I really like was called “The Clever Girl”. It was about a girl who came from a very poor family that lived on a farm. When the girl was a baby she was kissed by a fairy who blessed her with wit and… Continue Reading »
Main piece: Proverb “Al povero mancano tante cose, all’avaro tutte” Translation: “the poor man is lacking many things, the greedy man all” Background Information: Informant is Italian and lived a portion of his life in Milan, Italy. He learned it through spending time with his father, he would tell him this when he asked for money. To… Continue Reading »