This afternoon as I drove past the Izzalini-Romazzano cemetery, I saw a middle-aged woman bringing a spray of mimosa to brighten the tomb of her mother, grandma, sister or perhaps a friend. In our village church, the shrine to the Madonna already held a vase full of the cheery, fluffy flowers that Italians have chosen as their symbol of International Women's Day. No roses for us, thank you.
In a country that has been dragged reluctantly into acknowledging greeting card holidays, the celebration of IWD stands out as a tender and spirited salute among women in Italy and all over the world and, clearly, even beyond.
Although articles and ads insist that it's husbands and lovers who give us our annual sprigs of mimosa, my female friends say that it's just not so. "We give them to each other, of course," commented my neighbor, Loredana. "They symbolize friendship and solidarity, not love and romance. It has nothing to do with men."
Still, men (translation: the political establishment) have been subtly and righteously moving women to the periphery of organizing and directing their own Day. In 1975, the United Nations "formally" recognized the movement and this year their official theme is "Women and men united to end violence against women and girls."
In Washington, President Obama scheduled a Briefing Breakfast to discuss women's progress -- or lack of it -- in Afghanistan and the National Democratic Party beat their own women's caucus to an appropriate statement about April 8th. In Italy the same lip service has been paid but, because IWD falls on a Sunday in 2009, the inevitable commercial events were moved to the day before. Bars, restaurants and hotels are now eager to benefit from what began as a demand for the Vote and other equal opportunities. From male strippers to a ubiquitous gooey white and yellow cake to Suite Specials for Two, enterprises are working hard to capitalize on the celebration in these perilous economic times.
There is a self-declared "Official International Women's Day" web site, but it doesn't even list Italy as a participating country. Little do those people realize that we know the real meaning of IWD: let's be kind to each other, sisters; we all need a lot of strength to put up with this exploitation.
In a country that has been dragged reluctantly into acknowledging greeting card holidays, the celebration of IWD stands out as a tender and spirited salute among women in Italy and all over the world and, clearly, even beyond.
Although articles and ads insist that it's husbands and lovers who give us our annual sprigs of mimosa, my female friends say that it's just not so. "We give them to each other, of course," commented my neighbor, Loredana. "They symbolize friendship and solidarity, not love and romance. It has nothing to do with men."
Still, men (translation: the political establishment) have been subtly and righteously moving women to the periphery of organizing and directing their own Day. In 1975, the United Nations "formally" recognized the movement and this year their official theme is "Women and men united to end violence against women and girls."
In Washington, President Obama scheduled a Briefing Breakfast to discuss women's progress -- or lack of it -- in Afghanistan and the National Democratic Party beat their own women's caucus to an appropriate statement about April 8th. In Italy the same lip service has been paid but, because IWD falls on a Sunday in 2009, the inevitable commercial events were moved to the day before. Bars, restaurants and hotels are now eager to benefit from what began as a demand for the Vote and other equal opportunities. From male strippers to a ubiquitous gooey white and yellow cake to Suite Specials for Two, enterprises are working hard to capitalize on the celebration in these perilous economic times.
There is a self-declared "Official International Women's Day" web site, but it doesn't even list Italy as a participating country. Little do those people realize that we know the real meaning of IWD: let's be kind to each other, sisters; we all need a lot of strength to put up with this exploitation.
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