- There is no food better than Grandma’s homemade pasta, bread, sauce, pizza, etc. Literally nothing better. Not even in Italy.
- The word “cousin” is very relative (pun somewhat not intended). Your first cousins are some of your best friends; you definitely know all of your 2nd cousins, most of your 3rd cousins, and miscellaneous other relatives you just assume are cousins in some way.
- You recognize Italian folk songs and can admit that you like listening to them.
- You’ve attended at least one (maybe a few) Italian festivals in your area.
- Your mom forbids you to eat at Olive Garden (not that you'd want to eat there anyway).
- You only use the romano cheese to sprinkle on pasta. This cheese is not found in any standard grocery store. You make cheese runs and buy it in bulk for everyone from the same tiny Italian market the family has been frequenting for 20+ years.
- Family weddings are days you look forward to starting the minute a relative announces their engagement.
- When you visit your grandparents, or any relative, you eat a lot. The words “I’m not hungry” are either ignored, not comprehended, or both.
- You’re the same height as your grandmother by age 12.
- You have multiple male relatives with the names Nick, Mike, and Tony and half of the girls’ names end in “-ina”.
- Even the dogs have Italian names (Rocco, Bella, Nella).
- There are too many of you to purchase Christmas gifts for everyone, so you have a secret santa tradition.
- Christmas celebrations last from the Feast of the Seven Fishes on December 24th to the feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. You don’t understand how La Befana, an old Italian witch who brings gifts to children on the Epiphany, was turned into a kid friendly tradition.
- You make even the most American holiday, Thanksgiving, a little Italian by adding Italian dishes to the traditional Thanksgiving spread.
- There is a system to be followed for family gatherings. This includes norms that apply to set up, clean up, food lines, the menu, and seating arrangements.
- No one is safe from getting teased for even the smallest slip up. Nothing goes unnoticed.
- There are only two volumes of conversation at gatherings: loud and louder. And two paces of conversation: fast and faster.
- Someone in the family owns an Italian restaurant and employs multiple other family members.
- Drinking wine with the family is allowed long before the age of 21. Drinking wine without the family is not allowed until the day you turn 21.
- Your friends know that “I can’t, I have a family gathering” is an extremely valid and always true excuse for not being able to hang out. “Sorry…my grandma made dinner/it’s my dad’s goddaughter’s birthday/tonight is my second cousin’s semiannual dinner party…so I can’t go out tonight.”
- Your cousin group chat is your favorite group chat.
- You cannot and will not eat tomato sauce that comes from a labeled jar.
- Outsiders are scared. Outsiders are very scared.
- Everyone knows everything about everyone.
- Grandma knows best.
Student LifeOct 27, 2015
25 Signs You're From A Big Italian Family
If there's one word you know in the Italian language, it's "mangia."
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