It’s Columbus Day!

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Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus, Sebastiano del Piombo, 1519. (Source: Wikipedia)

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Here in the States, today is a holiday set aside to commemorate the “discovery” of America by that navigator from Genoa, Christopher Columbus, or as we call him, Cristoforo Colombo.

Two years ago, to celebrate, I shared a musical number with you, while last year we cooked octopus. Today I’ve chosen to highlight how the Italian language is passed from generation to generation … kinda-sorta. Watch how Great Grandma teaches her Little One the intricacies of the Italian language. The only problem is that the video is far too short. I could watch these two “talk” for hours.

Have a great Columbus Day and to our good friends and neighbors to the North, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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70 thoughts on “It’s Columbus Day!”

  1. I don’t know how you ever found this wonderful video, but it’s charming and I’m so glad I saw it. I didn’t understand a word of it! LOL! Didn’t matter one bit. 🙂 Happy Columbus Day, John. You never fail to give the man his due. I like that!

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    • Hi, Debra. A good friend sent it to me months ago and I knew it would find its way onto the blog, one way or another. I doubt either participant knew what the other was saying but they sure did put on a good show. I’m surprised we didn’t hear the “cameraman” laughing in the background. I certainly would have been. 🙂
      Hope you, too, are enjoying the holiday!

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  2. There is more than language being passed on here: this little girl knows she is loved and feels secure, is full of trust and fun . . . absolutely wonderful! Happy Columbus Day John and thanks !!

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  4. ciao amico! ti ritrovo in un giorno dedicato all’italianità e questo mi rende orgogliosa ” popolo di poeti, santi e navigatori” questo ci è universalmente riconosciuto…e di pittori no? guarda lo splendido ritratto di Coolmbo del grande Sebastiano del Piombo che hai scelto…e la cucina no? ha ha ha basta leggere qualcuna delle tue favolose ricette tradizionali!
    grazie, passa una settimana felice
    🙂

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    • Grazie mille, Ventis. From Etruscan times to the Present, the people of that peninsula have contributed greatly to civilization. This holiday may be named after Columbus but it celebrates so much more, my Friend. 🙂

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    • I’m with you, Norma. I bet the 2 of them have had many such “discussions”. That’s probably what tempted them to record one. I just wish it was the first of a series. 🙂

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  8. Did bisnonna tell the little girl she was being stubborn? At one moment she touched her head and said something that sounded like “la teshta doora”. In French, if someone says you have “la tete dure” it means you’re being hard-headed. Hilarious, in any case, and amazing the way they could carry on a conversation while speaking simultaneously — and managing not to knock anything off the table!

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    • Good catch! The only 2 words I understood — she’s speaking in the Sicilian dialect — correspond with “testa dura”, which do mean “hard head.”
      I, too, saw the bottles near the table’s edge and wondered how long they’d stay there. Maybe that’s why the video is so short. I should search YouTube for the blooper video. 🙂

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  9. Brilliant – reminded me of my Zia Santa! We learned a little rhyme when we were smaller about Christopher Columbus – Cristoforo Colombo con naso di piombo, con naso di rami, Cristoforo Salami – (for the non Italian speakers it’s Christopher Columbus with a nose made of lead, with a nose made of branches, Christopher Salami)! Total rubbish but I never forgot it 🙂

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    • Hello, Tanya. Funny how some things from our youth stick with us, no matter how foolish. I have a hard time remembering yesterday’s lunch but I can remember countless nursery rhymes and silly songs. I’ll be sending your poem to Zia to see if she remembers it or something similar. Either way, she’s gonna love it. 🙂

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    • I knew that you, Colline, as a teacher of the young ones, would really enjoy this. In a couple of years, I would love to watch her tell the class what she did on her Summer Vacation. 🙂

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  14. Love the hands…that is all part of learning the Italian language I would think. Is the little girl really saying anything in Italian?
    And that painting of Chris…I can’t quite decide if he is suppressing a smile or smirking. Maybe he was just waiting for the painter to be done for the day so he could get to his plate of pasta.
    Happy CC Day.

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    • Hello, Angeline. No, the little girl is speaking gibberish, as far as I can tell. How cute is that? You might be interested to learn that there are no “true” depictions of Columbus. While searching for a painting, I learned that he never sat for a portrait. Even this one was completed 13 year after his death. For his time, he must have been camera shy. 🙂

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    • Isn’t that clip the best?
      I had a friend over for dinner last night and showed him how to make pappardelle and served it with amatriciana. We all celebrate in our own way. 🙂

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    • Aren’t they the best? I hope their future is full of many such “chats.” What fun!
      Hope you’re enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving, Ruth, and that there’s plenty of leftover turkey for sandwiches. 🙂

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  18. That one always makes me laugh! I just realised that all this time I have been reading about Chrostopher Colombus (he tried to tell us all he found NZ too.. cheeky bugger.. his PR was excellent.. poor fella just forgot to tell anyone where he got the MAPS that lead to these discovies) anyway i have never seen a picture of him.. he was a handsome fellow.. courageous too by the sounds of it.. good morning from new Zealand!.. c

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    • Well, good afternoon from Illinois! I didn’t know it but there are no known authentic paintings of him. Even this one was painted a dozen years after his death. In our day of cellphone cameras and paparazzi, it’s hard to imagine a time when someone as notable as Columbus could return from the New World 3 times without someone even drawing a sketch of him.
      Glad to “see” you, Celi, and wish you and your family wonderful times together. I hope the clock slows to a snail’s pace for you all.

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    • Thanks, Charlie. I was surprised to learn that Columbus never sat for a portrait. This one was painted about a dozen years after his death. In this age of paparazzi, it’s hard to imagine a time when someone important wasn’t in some way “captured” for the world to see.

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    • That must have been something to see. My father’s dialect is very much unlike Italian. When I visited San Marino in May, my Zia kept telling everyone to speak Italian so that I could understand. Well, the truth is, I understood a little more but certainly not enough to be considered fluent. I sold it, though, with hand gestures. 🙂

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  25. Ahh, we kiss on both cheeks…we talk with both hands…there’s more to that quote…Loved this! 🙂
    Here in Seattle the mayor just designated Columbus day as Native Indigenous Day…there are some unhappy Italians in the city… I bet they are throwing up BOTH hands! :))

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    • It is a great little clip, isn’t it?
      Well, your Mayor sure stuck his foot in it, didn’t he? I definitely see the Native American views but there must be a better way to address them than by robbing Peter to pay Paul. 🙂

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    • I did have a great holiday, Barb, and am glad to hear that your Thanksgiving was so nice. I bet your home and table looked fantastic, both decorated beautifully for the holiday. 🙂

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    • You’re correct, Melanie, of course, but I was alluding to the mounting evidence that Vikings arrived in the North centuries before our Cristoforo made land somewhere in Bermuda.

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