People browse artisan crafts next to a table piled with Italian meats and cheeses and bread at the Springfield Sons & Daughters of Italy’s Italian Christmas Market on Dec. 6.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
SPRINGFIELD — On Winthrop Street in the heart of Springfield’s south end, members of the area’s Italian American community filtered in and out of a tent, buying holiday gifts from local artisans, eating roasted pecans and listening to a musician perform Christmas carols.
“A lot of Italians here don’t go to Italy at Christmas. They have it here with their families,” said Salvatore Circosta, president of Springfield’s chapter of the Sons & Daughters of Italy. So, the organization decided to bring one of Italy’s holiday traditions home to Springfield: a Mercatino di Natale, or Christmas Market.
Circosta said he was “inspired by the real thing in Italy.” When visiting the country during the Christmas season, he saw the traditional Christmas markets, which are different in every area. In the north of the country, he said, many of them are smaller, cozy affairs. In the south, the markets stretch for blocks, and thousands of people attend them. Circosta said the markets promote the individual cultures of each region. While the market on Winthrop Street took place over three days, the markets in Italy last for weeks.
Circosta wanted to incorporate a few key features in Springfield’s Christmas market. First was the nightlife. In Italy, he said, “It’s 10 o’clock at night and there’s thousands of people in the streets.” Of course, the food was important, he said. “We make sure they’re serving some traditional Italian foods — the soups, the pastas, the arancini,” he said. Circosta also fell in love with the multigenerational aspect. Families come to the markets year after year, and people bring their children, and later, grandchildren. The organizers worked hard to make the Italian Christmas Market family friendly. But for Circosta, though, the best part of the market is the positive community atmosphere.
The three-day outdoor festival, sponsored by Liberty Bank, was kicked off with a blessing and welcome from Father Paolo Bagattini. The event offered traditional foods, some imported from Italy, as well as handmade crafts, activities for children and live musical entertainment, and each day included a traditional event. On the first night, a Christmas tree was lit in Florian Park, with guest of honor Mayor Domenic Sarno. Saturday, families could take photos with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, and on Sunday, a nativity play by St. Carlo Acutis Youth Group with live camels, donkeys, cows, goats and sheep. Circosta said the last of these was based on an act of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Italy, who “re-enacted what the Nativity really looked like” in Greccio, Italy, after seeing displays of Jesus being born into luxury. In the Italian Christmas Market’s nativity, a participant played the role of St. Francis narrating the events.
About 750 people attended the first night alone, according to Circosta. People were visiting the market “nonstop,” said Riccardo Albano, who helped organize the Christmas Market. He added, “We’re running out of torrone,” an Italian candy made of nougat, honey and almonds.
“We thought about this in September. We literally had 45 days to prepare.” Albano said. Initially, it was planned for one day but soon became a weekend-long event. He added, “Probably, next year, we’re going all week.”
Circosta said, “We’re all new to this,” adding that the event came together with help from other businesses and people in the area, including Springfield-based La Fiorentina Pastry Shop, Mamma Mia’s Pizzeria and Trattoria in West Springfield and Longmeadow’s Posto. He said, “We have a lot of talented people in the community.”
Albano said the city was supportive of the organization’s efforts to bring the Italian Christmas Market to fruition. Circosta added, “We have a city that works with us and for us. A lot of the government is Springfield has immigrant backgrounds.”
Aside from skill and community involvement, the Christmas Market also required an investment of money. “The truth is, it’s expensive, especially for the first time,” Circosta said. Among the expenses were heaters, propane, tents and a fence. Albano estimated the total cost to be about $25,000. Albano “hopes that we can make a little profit and funnel it back into the Italian language classes” that the organization offers to children and adults.
But Circosta said, “If we break even, it was a success.” The true purpose of the event was to “bring the community together,” he said. Albano explained that the organization is trying to create at least one event that celebrates Italian heritage for every season of the year. In July, for example, the Springfield Sons & Daughters of Italy hosted Springfield’s first Italian Feast in decades. “If you’re under 20, you’ve never seen a feast,” Circosta said of the traditional, food-centered celebration. The event attracted more than 7,000 people.
Circosta said millennials and Gen Z have a renewed interest in exploring their Italian Heritage. Social media has exposed more people to the culture, and the cost of travel is less of a barrier than it has been in years past, he said.
However, Dario Gagliano, who was born in Italy, sees it differently. He said first generation Italian Americans, whose parents immigrated here, focused on assimilating into American culture. That generation’s children, however, are interested in learning more about their grandparents and their family’s roots.
