La Piazza di Carolina

Christmas in Italy is quite different from what we are accustomed to here in the United States. For Italians Christmas is primarily a religious holiday celebrated throughout the month of December in sharp contrast to the commercial over-kill we experience in the USA. 

The Christmas season in Italy begins with Advent (avvento) in December and ends with the Epiphany (epifania) on January 6th.  Italian Traditions vary from north to south and region to region.  For example on December 6 there is a big celebration for the Feast of St. Nicholas (La Festa di San Nicola).  He was a Pope who lived during the fourth century ans was known for his generosity toward children. This Pope was popular for sharing gifts with children during Christmas time.  Some children write letters on the eve of St. Nicholas asking him for gifts and making promises to be good in the coming year. They then place the letters on a dish hoping San Nicola will leave presents and sweets (dolci) for them.

St. Nicholas (San Nicola) is also the patron of the city of Bari, where he is buried. Its deeply felt celebration is called the Festa di San Nicola, held on the 7-8-9 of May. In particular on May 8 the relics of the saint are carried on a boat on the sea in front of the city with many boats following (Festa a mare). On December 6 there is a ritual called the Rito delle nubili. The same tradition is currently observed in Sassari, where during the day of Saint Nicholas, patron of the city, gifts are given to young brides who need help before getting married.

In Trieste St. Nicholas (San Nicolò) is celebrated with gifts given to children on the morning of the 25 of December and with a fair called Fiera di San Nicolò during the first weeks of December. Depending on the cultural background, in some families this celebration is more important than Christmas.

il ceppo

The heart of Christmas in Italy begins with the Novena, the eight days before Christmas Day. This is usually the time when families make all their holiday preparations like decorating their houses and shopping at the ourdoor markets. They buy cheeses, Christmas breads called Panettone, nougat candy called Torrone, and warm chestnuts called castagne.  The house are  are not lavishly decorated with lights and huge Christmas trees, but rather with religious symbols like the ceppo (yule log or wooden frame), and presepio. The ceppo is a wooden frame in the shape of a tree with three shleves, prevalent in the south of Italy. The shelves are decorated with pine cones, fruit and candles. The bottom shelf is reserved for the nativity scene or presepio.

 The presepio,or nativity scene is the most important symbol of the holiday season. Most Italian families have one displayed in their homes for Christmas. But the most beautiful and

il presepio cuciniello, Napoli, Museo di S. Martino

Neopolitan presepio

elaborate ones can be found in churches throughout Italy. In the south of Italy, in cities like Naples, they hold competitions for the most beautiful and grandest presepi.  The figures that go into the presepi are often antique and beautifully sculpted. Old ones are rare but in Naples beautiful new ones are still made by a few artisan sculptors.

On Christmas Eve, or la vigilia  di Natale, a traditional dinner of fish is made, the Feast of the Seven Fishes (Festa dei Sette Pesci). This meatless meal usually includes eel (capitone) and all kinds of desserts.  After the presepio is assembled, or the Baby Jesus (bambini Gesu’) is displayed, zampognari, shepherds from the mountains of Abruzzi, often come to play Christmas music on their bagpipes. The men, who during the Christmas season wander all over Italy, playing in the streets or at private houses, are colorfully dressed in felt hats, sheepskin vests, and leggings that lace up their legs. Their bagpipes are oddly comic, with sheeps’ feet hanging down from them.    At midnight on Christmas Eve, following the departure of the zampognari, the entire family, including babies and grandparents, attends the candlelit midnight mass.

The day after Christmas is also a holiday in Italy called St. Stephen’s Day (Santo Stefano), which marks the announcement of the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the Three Wise Men. It is a day which is spent working and helping those who are less fortunate. In the southof Italy, families traditionally butcher a pig to make ham, bacon, sausage and other delicious specialties and then enjoy a feast together.

La Festa di San Silvestro is New Year’s Eve (Capodanno) in Italy. It is a celebration that honors a Pope from long ago. Families and friends get together for a huge feast (cenone). The star of the dinner is lentils, symbolizing money and good fortune for the coming year. Traditionally, the dinner in many parts of Italy also includes a cotechino, a large spiced sausage, or a zampone, stuffed pig’s trotter. The pork symbolizes the richness of life in the coming year.

Huge midnight fireworks displays celebrate the coming of the new year. Most towns have public displays in a central square but private parties will also include firecrackers or sparklers, too, and will continue for a long time. Naples is known for having one of the best and biggest New Year’s fireworks displays in Italy. Some smaller towns build a bonfire in the central square where villagers will congregate into the early morning. If you’re near the coast, lake, or river you will hear boats and ships blowing their horns.

Dancing is also popular and many towns have public music and dancing before the fireworks. Rome, Milan, Bologna, Palermo and Naples put on huge popular outdoor shows with pop and rock bands. These events can sometimes be seen on television, too.

There are a few old customs and superstitions too.  On the first day of the year, the first person you talk to must be a man, otherwise, the whole year will be unlucky. In the south many like to throw their old things out the window to symbolize their readiness to accept the New Year.  So, keep an eye out for falling objects if you’re walking around near midnight!

Oh,  and don’t forget to wear red underwear to ring in the new year! They say it’ll bring you luck in the coming year.

The last day of the Christmas season in Italy is the Epiphany (Epifania) on January 6th. This is the day that the Three Wise Men (I Three Re’ Magi) arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts for the Baby Jesus.  The night before, on the Eve of the Epiphany, children all over Italy leave their stockings hanging on the foot of their beds waiting the the Befana to fill them up with gifts and candy. Who is Befana? There are many legends, but all explain that a poor old women, wearing a black shawl and carrying a broom travels from roof top to roof top in search of the Baby Jesus to bring him gifts. She stops at

la Befana

each house trying to find him and leaves gifts to all the good boys and girls, and coal (carboni) for those that have been bad. The legend of La Befana.