Well, it has been a long while since I last wrote. Mainly, that's because I have been, in chronological order: 1) trying to procure a work/holiday visa from the Italian consulate in Montreal; 2) after much travail, successfully procuring a work/holiday visa from the Italian consulate in Montreal; 3) assembling various documents for my dog's travel passport to the EU; 4) preparing a conference paper for a panel on Italian studies in Zurich; 5) flying to and attending said conference; 6) touring Zurich and Innsbruck; 7) redecorating my Florence abode; 8) visiting with my boyfriend's family in Orbetello and Manciano/Pomonte/Saturnia; 9) taking a short detour to Capalbio to visit the Giardino dei Tarocchi; and 10) completing a course syllabus on Italian regionalism, proposing papers for panels at the RSA's 2015 meeting in Berlin, and completing a draft of an intended publication.
So, phew. That was a lot of stuff.
But I have been meaning to write about Italian housewarming traditions - or the perceivable lack thereof - since May 15, when a close Italian friend became a homeowner for the first time, in Montreal.
I have known this friend since my McGill days, and she has seen me through some of the darkest periods of my life. So when she, excited, requested my presence at an intimate housewarming affair on the night she closed the deal officially, despite the million and one things going on in my life, I couldn't say no. I had been told that it was considered good luck in Italian circles to bring salt to a new homeowner -- a friend had once brought me some when I first moved into my own place (although I was renting it) without roommates in Baltimore. I wasn't sure, however, if the tradition was bogus. The fact that I was being invited to a housewarming by an Italian friend did nothing to assuage my doubts about the validity of the tradition -- she has been living in Canada for the past twelve years. She's about as Canadian as I am at this point.
My curiosity led me to do research, as it usually does, which brought me to two items of interest. The first is this list of "Traditional Italian Housewarming Gifts." The second was my boyfriend's staunch and unflinching affirmation that housewarming in general, let alone traditional gifts associated with it, simply doesn't exist in Italy. Or at least, that it isn't really a thing in most places in Italy.
As it so happens, both things are only half right, as more research confirmed.
As anyone who has lived (or lives) in North America knows, housewarming parties are a big deal in Canada and the US: people have them all the time, as often as they can, every time they move into a new place. They usually happen when the home is already set-up and ready to accommodate guests, since the point of a housewarming party is to prepare the new home as a place of hospitality. It's a social inauguration, if you will. It's true that this particular celebration doesn't exist in Italy. As important as socialising and hospitality are to Italians, none (or few, and almost none within Italy) feel the need to underline it in the specific context of buying or moving into a new house. It goes without saying. If you're going to live in your own place, you're going to have your friends over for dinner. Repeatedly. Without need for excuses, explanations, or reasons. Just because. (This is one thing I have always loved about Italians vs. Americans. In Italy, you never need to "sell" your event or appeal to your audience's likes, dislikes, sports preferences or television schedules. If you want to have dinner with some people, you don't need to throw a theme-party, an Oscar party, a Super Bowl party, a Fourth of July, Memorial Day, or Labor Day party. You just need to call and invite them over. Un punto e basta).
But it is customary, when visiting a new home, to bring the homeowner a token for various forms of good luck. It's even more common for the homeowner to bring these trinkets to their new homes themselves. (Because when it comes to luck, Italians are on top of their game.)
Not all of the items on the list, however, resonate with Italian audiences, as both my boyfriend and my friend the homeowner confirmed. Let's go through them.
1) Wine and bread -- Nope. Never heard of this tradition. There's wine and bread at every Italian meal. Why should a "housewarming" celebration be any different?
2) Rice -- As a symbol of fertility, rice is more typically associated with marriage in Italy. It is both used as confetti at the religious (or civil) ceremony, and, more traditionally still, placed in the wedding bed made the night prior to the wedding by a team of virgins (allegedly).
3) Candles -- Yes. For light. For warmth. For fragrance. Not necessarily for change, as the list suggests.
4) Olive oil -- Nope. Read item 1. Ibidem.
5) Brooms -- Yes. Little ones to hang on the entrance door or other doorways. Symbolic brooms to sweep away misfortune. I suppose you could bring a full-sized Oskar-style broom to an Italian homeowner if you really wanted to .... would come in handy if you were going to help her/him to move in. Otherwise, I might just stick with the figurative format.
6) Salt -- Yes. And it is customary to scatter it in doorways.
My friend also brought lentils with her, despite their more customary use on New Year's eve and day. Then as always, they are said to bring prosperity.
I settled on salt (for flavour), something that I thought was my friend's favourite candies (and turned out to be chili pepper lol), beer, and empanadas. We sat around a tiny porch table, three matching chairs, and a box, and watched the little candle she'd brought over for good tidings burn.
It was a lovely cross-cultural evening -- just the way I like them :)
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