Buon Natale, Nollaig Shona, Happy Christmas...

Friend and fellow writer Linda Capelli Pierce enjoys the yuletide traditions of her parents' combined Italian, English and Irish heritage. For Christmas Eve dinner, she serves a traditional lasagna and bayberry candles as a wish for health and wealth are a nod to her English roots.

But her favorite memory related to a Christmas tradition is how her mother would send her a card depicting the Three Wise Men and the Christmas star, an Irish custom that is thought to bring good fortune...



"[She] would sign it, "3 Wise Guys and a Star - Love, Mom," says Pierce of her mother, who was an actress. "She also would always send herself one of these cards in case I forgot to send her one!"