Some relative of the family passed away today causing much confusion. The first confusing episode was caused by the highly unimaginative Italian tradition of naming sons and and daughters after dads and mums. It took my mum almost two hours and 20 phone calls to figure out which Stella Something-or-other died. It’d have been much quicker to have photos with a name on the back sent out to respective family members via carrier pigeons.
The second part of the who died saga, was how to discern what responsibilities certain family members have now. For example, an Italian tradition is to basically have a house/place open for three days where other distant family members can come to pay their respects, or hold crying competitions. These gatherings of course, need to have food available, sometimes even a full blown dinner. Yes, I know any excuse for a feast. My mum and an aunt were very confused as to whether they needed to provide the food or not, the social standing with this particular deceased relative was very much in the grey area apparently.
Every Italian family does however have an oracle to consult in situations like these, an Italian Yoda if you will (normally female), and I’m sure my aunt Yoda has steered my mum in the socially responsible, and acceptable direction.
Now how much to spend on the flowers is a totally different thing altogether…
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