Comparing patterns of the past and present

By CASSANDRA VALENTINI

Editor’s Note: Cassandra Valentini is a student at Youngstown State University. She wrote the following for an assignment in a nutrition, health and aging class.

My great-grandmother was born in 1916 and grew up during the Great Depression. Her father died unexpectedly when she was young, and she and her three sisters were raised by her mother in Youngstown.

My great-grandmother is of Italian descent, and the neighborhood where she grew up was predominantly Italian. My great-grandmother explained that money was very scarce and most meals consisted of beans, pasta, and greens and vegetables they grew in a garden. She tells me that was very common with everyone, and she didn’t realize she was missing anything because most of her friends came from similar financial situations.

She said once a week her mother would make bread, and by the end of the week the bread would be so hard they would dunk it in coffee or water to soften it up to eat for breakfast.

Celebrations

This financial situation affected holidays and the foods served.

My great-grandmother explained that holidays in those days were nothing like today. The two main holidays were Christmas and Easter. Christmas meals would be eaten with her mother and sisters since they did not have many relatives living in this country. They usually ate this holiday meal in the early afternoon, as far as she can remember.

The meals usually consisted of homemade pasta that was cut into squares, boiled and served with tomato sauce that her mother had canned and stored. She said her mother always put plenty of chicken feet in the sauce to give it flavor, and she and her sisters loved to suck on the bones.

On a special holiday there might be some meatballs or bragiole in the sauce, and that was a big treat. There would usually be a salad with the meal or some vegetable such as green beans saut ed with sauce and onions, which was a favorite of hers.

Easter was another special holiday that my great-grandmother enjoyed. There were usually special food treats on Christmas and Easter that she and her sisters enjoyed. For example, her mother would get a small chicken, maybe 4 pounds, and stuff it with bread stuffing made with the gizzards from the chicken, and it would be roasted with potatoes around it in the oven. Also, her mother would make Easter bread, and my great-grandmother said this was the biggest treat. She compared it to cake we eat today.

My great-grandmother said because they did not have much on a daily basis, these special treats were greatly appreciated.

Different traditions

Traditions have changed much since that time. Today, my great-grandmother celebrates holidays with her children’s families. Holiday meals are usually served later in the day, usually between 5 or 6 o’clock.

Christmas dinner will usually consist of wedding soup, which contains greens, chicken and meatballs. In addition, there is some type of pasta served with meat sauce that contains meatballs, pork and bragiole, which is a round steak filled with herbs and rolled.

In addition, there is also usually a large stuffed turkey. There also may be a large number of side casseroles provided by family members who gather together for the dinner. The meal also contains a variety of sweets for dessert including many Christmas cookies that are baked by family members.

Usually in attendance besides my great-grandmother are aunts, uncles and cousins. Our large Italian family can be very loud and there is always too much food.

Surprisingly, when comparing holidays from the past with today, my great-grandmother says she prefers the past traditions because it was “simpler” then. She feels children today are spoiled and that there is too much wasted food. She feels there was less food in the past, but what they had was very appreciated and that children ate the pasta, beans and greens and were thankful for it.

She feels that even though there are more food choices today, the children eat too much junk and they don’t appreciate what they have.

She also says all the noise and confusion of so many people also makes it difficult to enjoy the meals today.

Although my great-grandmother loves her family and enjoys being with them, she still feels that the best holiday traditions were the simple traditions of the past.