The Italian word for Christmas, Natale, is only one vowel away from my name, Natalie. I must admit that when I stroll through the city at this time of year, I feel famous. Buon means good, so at first glance, it appears that all the shops are festooned with signs that read: Good Natalie! Love that. The Italian way to say Happy New Year is Felice Anno Nuovo. I'd just like to point out the critically important second n in the word anno. About 12 years ago, I was writing out holiday cards to family and friends in the States, as Davide, my Italian boyfriend (now husband) looked on. At the bottom of the cards, I had written: Buon Natale e Felice Ano Nuovo. (Note the lack of the second n in anno.) Davide started to laugh--one of those laughs where he can't speak for a good 60 seconds, complete with tears streaming down his face. When he finally pulled himself together, he told me about the missing n.
Apparently, I was wishing my loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Anus. Oops.
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So with all the n's in tact, allow me to wish you all a Felice AnNo Nuovo and a prosperous , healthy 2008!
P.S. Here's another double-n greeting--this time for my mom. Happy Birthday!
7 comments:
Thanks for the laugh, Natalie!
Danette V.
You're welcome, Danette! I've made a linguistic fool of myself several times over here. And I'm sure there are more oops moments to come! :-)
Sorry to hear about your son's illness and all the extra gingerbread houses! I hope he's better now. And Happy New Anus!
(Considering my recent sledding incident - that actually applies to me! :)
Sorry Natalie - that "phantom Admin" is me - Julie. I didn't realize my husband was still logged in. It's me - Julie, from your crit group.
Sorry about the sledding accident, Julie...ouch. In your case, I'll drop that 2nd N and say: Felice Ano Nuovo!
Too funny! Did you actually send out any of your New Year's cards before Davide caught it?
Hi africakid,
No, luckily Davide caught my error before I mailed the cards! Although I did have to go back and squeeze in that extra n, and this was before I did Christmas letters on the computer. :-) Hope your holidays were happy!
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