Tuesday, Dec 13th was my 44th birthday. If you told me that I would be celebrating it in an Italian language class in Florence, Italy, because I’m dating an Italian and I want to learn his native language, I would have said you were pazzo (crazy). But here I am, doing just that…and this brain is being challenged every dang day in this class. Molto difficile (very difficult).
It was a fun celebration. Everyone in class sang Happy Birthday in their native language (Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin & French) which was wild because it was all at the same time – molto pazzo (very crazy)! Xiaoyan got up extra early and baked me cookies (so kind and thoughtful – I almost cried) and Priscila brought me a Kinder Bueno (chocolate bar). They really made me feel special, especially being so far away from home. And there was CAKE! ❤️ Well, I was told I needed to supply the cake so Luca went the night before and picked one up for me to bring to class. I said to the teacher, Annarita, “I don’t like this Italian tradition…shouldn’t you guys bring ME a sweet treat?” She said, “no,” they get the honor of celebrating me. Ummmm. Something seems wonky with this picture.
Luca planned a wonderful “experience” (I don’t really like “stuff” but I love a fun adventure) to take me to see the M.C. Escher exhibit that is in town at the moment. Unfortunately, we were both busy for most of the day on Tuesday so we are going to spend the afternoon today looking at some art to cap off the celebration (I’m trying to wrap this up so I can go!). 🎉 He did however make the evening pretty special with a nice dinner and a walk around Florence to see the Christmas decorations. Florence is cold but beautiful this time of year. The Christmas tree and Nativity are on display in front of the Duomo and you can’t help but feel a little joyful.
Luca and I also celebrated St. Lucia Day, which is a version of Christmas for the Northern Italians (where Luca is from – Lombardia region – but not celebrated here in Florence). Instead of celebrating Christmas with Santa Claus on Dec. 25th, they celebrate St. Lucia on Dec. 13th. From the way, Luca tells it, it’s a little bit of an odd holiday. His words, not mine, “St. Lucia was a martyr who was killed for her religious beliefs. They removed her eyes and placed them on a platter (kind of creepy). The legend says that she brings gifts to good little girls and boys, and coal to the misbehaved children…but the catch is – if you look for/or at the ghost of St. Lucia on the eve of the holiday, she will blind you forever.” Ummm, hello! Oh, and she also is a ghost that floats through the walls to deliver the gifts…spooky. Luca told me that as a child he was terrified of this woman even though she brought him presents. So when he met me and found out that my birthday was the same day, he didn’t know whether to hug me or run far, far away. Hahaha! In honor of his version of Christmas – I gave him a bunch of lotto scratcher cards (he is a minimalist as well) and painted him a handmade St. Lucia card with eyes on a platter…which made him laugh.
‘Tis the season to celebrate, and celebrate we did.
Goodnight and much love from Firenze! 🇮🇹