Posts categorized as Holiday

About two months ago I received my Mother’s blessing – I was allowed to have Easter. This is now my official holiday. Christmas Eve is actually my favorite celebration. I start listening to Christmas music in October, and I don’t take down the tree until mid-February. Unfortunately, my older sisters, have already been awarded the Christmas festivities. Don’t get me wrong, I’m honored to host the holiest of Christian holidays, but I can’t get dressed up in a gold-glittered jumper and dance to the hymn, Were You There When They […]

Previously published in The Wave. It’s Lent, the season of fasting, sin-repenting, and worldly-pleasure-abstaining. For forty days beginning on Ash Wednesday, Christians around the globe participate in this abstinence in preparation of Holy Week. The Greek Orthodox call this time  “The Season of Bright Sadness.” Heavy. Our Jewish neighbors call it “March”. So what type of sacrifices do we engage in? The question came up at a post-parade gathering last week. Turns out there are many different abstaining categories. The first, and most common, is what I call the “Self-Serve […]

Previously published in The Wave “Everyone’s Irish on Rockaway St. Paddy’s Day,” says everyone, or at least those of us that aren’t actually Irish. But that’s okay — St. Patrick himself wasn’t even Irish. He was born in Scotland and his parents were Roman. So who knows —  maybe St. Patrick’s Day should really be thought of as an Italian holiday (yikes!).  At any rate, I can at least use this as a justification for this Mediterranean girl’s enthusiasm for Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day, which has become a highly-anticipated ritual […]

I’ve been looking on Pinterest for DIY Halloween decorations because Matt said I’ve already spent too much money on hay, decorative gourds and “all that junk”. I found this cool DIY dead body project and thought, “I’m definitely making this!” It was so easy and fun to build.  This is how we did it! What you need: Large tarps or old blankets Black contractor bags Duck tape Fake blood (we used a red lipstick) I recruited Anna to help me! It’s easier with two people but totally doable on your own. To start, what […]

Three different plugs for five sets of lights and I changed the fuse in one string (on my own). It’s been working for two nights now so it’s safe to say I got these damn lights working! If you missed my post on the Christmas Light Debacle, read about it here. Merry Merry!

Last night was attempt three at getting my Christmas lights to work. I’ve been trying to get this done without help from Matt. He said “I’m too busy keeping us out of the poor house to participate in decorating our house for Christmas”. So… it’s all on me. I was excited, this would be the first time our house was lit up for Christmas… and everyone knows how much I love Christmas. The weekend after Thanksgiving I had the Christmas music going and the wine was poured. I was happily decorating. […]

Everyone knows about our typical St. Paddy’s Day tradition in Rockaway. A day that  starts at the Honan house for breakfast, then the parade and then to my parents house for the traditional Irish feast. I have to say this years menu may have been the best. One item that has been there year in and year out, is our shepherd’s pie. One year back in college after doing the all day partying, me and my Manhattan College crew came back to my parents house and warmed up the shepherd’s […]

I’ve finally gotten around to posting our Christmas Eve Baccalà ball recipe which some of you have expressed interest in. It’s a long process but tradition warrants this meal a must on Christmas Eve. A Sicilian tradition on the Feast of the Seven Fishes: “The most famous dish Southern Italians are known for is baccalà (salted cod fish). The custom of celebrating with a simple fish such as baccalà is attributed to the greatly impoverished regions of Southern Italy.” I was thinking though, why only make this once a year? It’s essentially a finger food, perfect for […]

Previously published in The Wave. Grandma Mary’s Artichoke Pie is actually quiche. I don’t know why we call it pie, we just do. I never thought twice about it until I asked my Grandmother about the recipe. Grandma Mary worked at the A&P on Jamaica Ave in Belrose for 23 years. By the time she retired, Grandma was making about $20 an hour which was a lot back then. We called her money bags!  She seemed to enjoy her work – she was known as a great bag-packer. She new about the sales […]

As Easter approaches, I am reminded of my days as a little girl in Ozone Park awaiting wearing a lovely new dress, shiny patent leather shoes, a wide-brimmed hat and the arrival of the Easter bunny with lots of chocolate and jelly beans. We wore the pretty dress and hat for church and the sweets would be there in the basket when we got home. There were some other connections to the taste of Easter with the Italian pastries that included grain pie and sweet bread with colored hard-boiled eggs […]