Essay written by Sophia Montcalmo

Tradition is something treasured by and passed through generations. Especially for families with strong cultural backgrounds that have traveled out of their country of origin, tradition has been a way of continuing the culture of their heritage. However, society is always changing socially, demographically, and economically, and with change can come unknown challenges. These challenges can include continuing and preserving traditions passed through families.

Some Italian traditions passed along from my grandparents include going to St. Leo’s Roman Catholic Church in Little Italy to make pizzelles, raviolis, and meatballs for the church’s ravioli and pasta dinner. Then, on the day of the dinner, I would bus tables for all the people enjoying their meal. My entire extended family would also attend the dinner and we would all eat together and enjoy the “pop up shops” upstairs while waiting for our table. These are treasured memories that I hope to continue with my own children one day.

One challenge that has arisen is that St. Leo’s church is now facing closure or consolidation. [Editor’s note: this essay was written before the Archdiocese’s decision to keep St. Leo’s open, though many area parishes will be closing.] A lack of involvement and interest from younger generations has made it difficult for the church to continue being able to raise money and hold these events for the public. Not enough of the younger Italian generation knows about the church’s spaghetti dinner to continue bringing in guests to dine together. With the church’s potential changes, those who did hold the preparation of the dinner and the event itself dear to their hearts may no longer be able to enjoy that tradition with family and the next generations to come. To address this challenge, we need to reach the younger generation’s attention through modern methods including social media and word of mouth. The more people who know about it and enjoy what the church has to offer, the more those people will bring in other families including their own to continue the church’s tradition and legacy.

Another tradition that my family would partake in was our involvement in the Columbus Day parade down in Little Italy. When I was younger, my parents, grandparents, and sister would all ride one of the floats in the parade and throw out handfuls of candy to everyone. We would wear red, green, and white bead necklaces, Italian shirts, and wave around our miniature Italian flags while we waved to everyone.

The continuation of this tradition is faced with a unique challenge that has recently become a very fore fronted concern. Society has become increasingly aware of potentially offensive figures and ideas in history. One of these historical figures that is now seen as offensive and “wrong” is Christopher Columbus. Columbus Day is a celebration of Columbus, his discovering of America, and his opening up of America for other people. However, younger generations in society have become increasingly aware of the Native Americans who lived in America before Columbus “discovered” the country and say that he infiltrated and stole their land and claimed it as his own. Because of this, Indigenous People’s Day is now celebrated in opposition of Columbus Day.
This recent occurrence has made it more difficult to grab the attention and interest of others to attend this event. Because society is becoming more educated and aware of history, people’s views and opinions on Columbus have changed. Although there are definitely people who still respect him and what he did, an increasing number of people are beginning to find him and what he stands for as offensive. They do not want to celebrate a historical figure with such a controversial background. Because of this controversial background, violence, protests, and riots have been occurring more. For example, in 2020 a large group of protestors tore down the statue of Christopher Columbus in Little Italy and dumped it into the harbor. This event’s occurrence made many people nervous to attend the Columbus Day parade in fear that protestors would attempt another act of vandalism or violence. These riots and violent protestors are not only limited to Baltimore either; this is a national movement. This is a challenge that is more difficult to overcome and should be assessed with caution, patience, and respect.

Italian culture and traditions are conclusively becoming harder to preserve and bring into a new generation. This is not an issue that can be easily overcome, but it is important that people continue to do their best to preserve and continue these traditions as safely and frequently as possible. Bringing awareness to the challenges that make preserving these traditions so difficult could be helpful for others to see the struggles that Italian Americans go through to keep celebrating their culture in a country of supposed freedom.