Cultural Traditions: Changes & Continuities
Growing up the post-Christmas winter season was cold, lackluster, and generally boring. Yeah, there’s Superbowl Sunday, which I stopped indulging in once I realized that it is the #1 day for domestic violence. There’s also Valentine's Day which is great if you’re tall, thin, handsome or quirky enough to be adorable. But that’s not me, so February 14th was often just another day. What I do remember from the post-Christmas winter season, however, are two other holidays: St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day.
While I am not Irish-American, some of my close friends are. They would go to the St. Patrick’s Day parade, eat cornbeef and cabbage, and have soda bread. Those going to the parade would wear their green, and, once older, would go to McSorley’s for either a light or dark beer. The sense of belonging was palpable. I remember when I was a student at Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge and a member of the school band that the band would play at the Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Those were some great times, partaking in a cultural tradition not my own but enjoying it just the same. [Later in life I would meet someone from Ireland who found St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States to be baffling. She said, “We literally just go to church.”]
Within my own tradition and culture, I can recall occasional St. Joseph’s Day dinners that would happen should the holiday fall on a Sunday. My grandfather would get the St. Joseph’s “cane” bread from Del Sol bakery on 19th avenue and the zeppole and the sfingi from either Rimini Bakery on Bay Parkway or Alba on 18th Avenue. There are no Josephs in my immediate family (but in the extended family there are), but still we celebrated with these traditions. Why? Because we’re Italian-American and breaking bread together is part of our larger tradition.
Our holidays and traditions are so important to our cultural identity. For years Bath Beach/Bensonhurst was an Italian-American cultural hub. There are glimmers of that once thriving culture and community, but even the glimmers are fading away. A sad goodbye and best wishes to a recent Italian-American institution that closed, Lenny’s Pizzeria. As a 78 year old family business, seeing a long-term neighborhood business close is particularly hard. Still, many other long-term family businesses still exist in the Bensonhurst area as this wonderful Brooklyn Reporter article shows IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS: Family businesses grow like trees, and survive, in Bensonhurst. It would be awesome if the Brooklyn Reporter did an equivalent article for the Bath Beach side of the neighborhood <wink, wink>.
Having said all that, I’m not one for nostalgia. It is important to note that out of the remnants of the Italian-American community and its tradition has risen new traditions from the new, diverse communities. Our Chinese neighbors celebrated the Lunar New Year not that long ago. Our Jewish neighbors are preparing to celebrate Purim in just a few days and Passover next month, and our Muslim brothers and sisters, who come from a variety of countries, are celebrating Ramadan later this month. Then, Christians across our neighborhood representing a plethora of cultures will be celebrating Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday for our Roman Catholic readers), Good Friday, and Easter next month - with each culture celebrating those days in their own unique ways.
It’s nice to be writing to you all again. I will aim to post a new blog each month going forward.
Your Friend,
John