Do you know all the gossip on your fourth cousin and her boyfriend with questionable hair choices and tattoos? Does your family eat an abnormal amount of carbs? Does your family frown upon Olive Garden, and the laughable fare they call Italian food? If you answered yes to these questions, you just might be a member of a stereotypical Italian family! Let me ask you a few more questions, just to double check.

Categoria Uno: Holidays!

1. Do you eat pasta and Italian meats instead of traditional Christmas dishes?

2. Has a group argument broken out at least once by the time cannolis and coffee are served?

3. Are a majority of your family members wearing a decorative cross/crucifix or saint necklace?

4. Are all the men in your family chilling on the couch and talking sports while the women clean the kitchen?

5. Are you expected to consume three different pastas in one meal?

6. Have at least half your family members said something incredibly inappropriate and offensive by the end of the night?

7. Does your grandma print prayers for you and your cousins to read before opening presents?

8. Does the sound of stress screaming from the kitchen give you an odd sense of joy?

9. Are at least two people at your holiday party not speaking?

10. Do you discuss and compare the homilies made by your separate priests at Christmas/Christmas Eve mass?

Categoria Due: Family Gossip

1. Do you often feel you know way too much about your distant cousin's love life?

2. Do you love indulging yourself in the richness of family drama?

3. Do you hate when you are the subject of family gossip?

4. Are family members very comfortable sharing their input on your choices?

5. Are you very comfortable sharing your input on others' choices?

6. Is the concept of "boundaries" laughable to you?

Categoria Tre: Traits, Behaviors, and Careers

1. Do you have a naturally loud speaking voice?

2. Do you tell really long and hilarious stories?

3. Do you laugh a lot?

4. Do you spend 20 minutes saying goodbye to people?

5. Are you stubborn?

6. Is one of your family members in the Italian food industry? (Shameless plug: Big Steers Meats is the best.)

Categoria Quattro: Love

1. Do you have a surplus of people that love and support you?

2. Do you always have a friend in your family?

3. Is your family always there to help?

4. Does your family defend you with all their being?

5. Do you realize how special your culture is?

6. Do you realize how incredibly blessed you are with your family?

If you are really a stereotypical Italian family, you may have just realized the answer to number 6 is "yes." They will always love you, and you will always love them. Everyone may not always get along, but that it is just because we are all passionate. We are all passionate about our family. They believe their children deserve the best, so they expect the best out of us, the people we associate with, the work we do, and the way we present ourselves. Appreciate the love of an Italian family because we are pretty darn lucky to have it.