'Eppi Nu Ir' from Norman Rockwell in Italy

I hadn't thought about the Saturday Evening Post or Norman Rockwell for years. In fact, I've been away so long, I'm not even sure those two names go together. When I first started this post I wrote Norman Rockefeller, but after several rereads it didn't sound right.

Writing from my house in the mountains (where it takes a 2.5-mile run to reach an internet connection) I try to stick to subjects I'm sure of, but seeing that it's Christmastime and this piece is timely, right or wrong, I'm writing.

For my Italian audience, Rockwell was an artist who painted classic all-American scenes that were printed on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post (a weekly magazine), among which the most popular (I think) were depictions of Christmas.

I've never attempted to recreate a real Norman Rockwell Christmas, but for advice I need look no further than my friend Sylvia and her small Italian family in a tiny town near Lake Trasimeno. Happy with all of the musical Gifs and idyllic Christmas images that arrived in my electronic mailbox this year, none sent sentimental shivers like hers.  

The first was an unpolished video of 9 people singing an unbeatable rendition of an Italian-accented Feliz Navidad. The camera was set on the piano and caught only half of the pianist's face with the helter-skelter group in matching red shirts clustered behind the sofa. There was a beautifully chubby arm between the piano and the sofa and I knew it was the 95-year old nonna (grandma) because that's the place I remembered her chair on my summer visit.

The next day I received a photo of the whole family making pasta at a long table with a green and white checked tablecloth and benches instead of chairs; Nonna at the front of the table in charge of lining up the perfect tortellini like tiny, plump soldiers on a baking tray. There was no video included, but I'm sure their laughter boomed like cannons before and after the photo shoot.

And then on Christmas Day, two nearly identical videos arrived. The first was Nonna with ever-so-slightly disheveled hair being prompted by the videographer to wish me (I like to think it was just for me) a Happy Christmas. The end showed my friend's husband holding a cue card that said, "Eppi Crismas"; the most efficient way to remind an Italian how to pronounce Happy Christmas.

The second video was almost exactly the same (except Nonna had a few more hairs in place), once again perfectly pronouncing "Eppi Crismas" from a cue card held by her grandson; very minor changes that showed the importance of perfection in her 'Crismas' wish.

Thanks to the whole family for the best gift of the year. There's no doubt Norman would be very proud. The kids may have taught Nonna the pronunciation of Happy Christmas, but by the look of things, she's been teaching them its meaning for years.