If you ever go to an Italian wedding on the East Coast, you would be amazed by the cookie table. Unless you have seen it, you could not fathom how many cookies and how much variety there is.

The Italian cookies. The rainbow cookies. The rum cake. The cannoli. These aren't just baked goods. They are the flavors of special memories — of weddings, celebrations and holidays.

Those are traits you want in a Christmas cookie, are they not? Italian cookies typically contain no more ingredients than you can count on one hand, but they differ vastly from region to region.

The Sons & Daughters of Italy and C. Colombo Lodge 1315 will host its annual Cuccidati Contest and Italian cookie sale and festival on Nov. 12 at a new venue, the Pittsburg Youth Development Center.