Buon Compleanno and Onomastico

Buon Compleanno is Happy Birthday in Italian and believe me it is a big day in a person's life. Yet I have not figured out which is bigger buon compleanno or onomastico (name day). The Carriglitto's got to celebrate both last week. Carlo's onomastico was Tuesday and Grace's buon compleanno was Friday. It was a big week.

We have had the opportunity to attend a Buon Compleanno for one of Grace's classmates. The Italians know how to celebrate a birthday. The party started at 5pm. There was a magic show, puppet show, games played, etc. At 8pm Jon and I were ready to go. Grace and Charles were exhausted. It was literally 3 hours of non-stop play and we haven't even gotten to the cake. The mother asked us to wait so we did. At 8:30 we sang Buon Compleanno and the cake was cut. We did not stay for the rest of the festivities and believe me it was not winding down. I can only imagine how long the children continued to play after all the sugar they were about to eat. It was an amazing event and we were all glad we attended. We wish we knew more Italian since only one person spoke any English. It was a motivator for me to study harder but I still have a ways to go for conversations. It might take me a few more birthday parties before I am fluent.

Grace's party was not so grandious. We only invited our friends with little ones around Grace's age and a few neighbors. We had the typical American birthday party with hamburgers and hotdogs. Of course you know the Carriglitto's had to do a little more than that so we added a corn dip and chicken enchilladas. The food was great. Unfortunately as you can see from the picture the Carvel cake thawed a little quicker than we were expecting. The little ones all played and had a good time. We did not have a puppet show, organized games, or any of that nature. I did not realize how much Grace enjoyed her party until yesterday when I told her that I had a surprise for her. She immediately asked if it was a birthday party. This was all the confirmation that I needed to know she had a wonderful 3rd Birthday Party.