I remember my Italian-American grandmother telling me . .

a) due to the prodigious amounts of ice-cream eaten on this day,

and b) because it was a holiday where everyone took the day off,

that as a young girl she and the other children as well as most adults in the neighborhood simply referred to the 4th of July as Forza Gelato, which roughly means “Go, ice-cream!” or “Hurray, ice-cream!”

Ostensibly quite a stretch . . . but say “Fourth of July” quickly 5 times with a strong Italian accent and you’ll notice that the “translation” is quite close, at least phonetically.

So, since many of you are from the US, but extended to all the readers as well, please allow us at Italian Notebook to wish you and your families a most Happy Forza Gelato weekend!