8th of December

The Immaculate Conception is a public holiday which marks the beginning of the Christmas atmosphere. This public holiday gives people the opportunity to buy a Christmas tree and start decorating. But because the weather is still fair at this time of year people are also out and about collecting mushrooms and chestnuts.

Nativity Scene

In 1223 St. Francis of Assisi arranged for the first ever live nativity to be created in celebration of Christmas. Since that time the Italians have enthusiastically followed this tradition using figures carved out of wood, instead of living people. The southern part of Italy still strongly adheres to this tradition and life-sized wooden figures are often set up in churches. Almost every home will have table set up with their own nativity scene and as the story unfolds more and more characters are added to the scene with Jesus being placed in the manger on the 24th and the Three Kings arriving on the 6th. Sometimes the Three Kings are even placed at the far end of the room and are moved closer daily until they appear in the nativity scene. Many people take their nativity scenes very seriously and are very specific as to what poses the various characters should have. Some homes have very elaborate scenes with ships and animals as well as lakes made of aluminium foil.

The schools will often perform a nativity play and there is great competition to be chosen as the most beautiful girl to represent Mary and the cutest boy as Joseph. Each school will generally also have its own nativity scene that the children are involved in creating. Creating this scene is often the focus of an art project using unusual media like pasta.

Traditional Christmas songs like ‘Tu scendi dalle Stelle’ - (You (Jesus) come down from the stars) and a Latin song called ‘Adeste Fidelis’ will be sung in churches on weekends without mass.

13th December Santa Lucia

Santa Lucia (St Lucy) is celebrated in many parts of Italy (and continues to also be celebrated in Sweden). The festival is celebrated with fireworks, bonfires, processions and songs celebrating her as being the ‘protector of sight and light.’ In some parts of northern Italy she is also a character who brings gifts. The children write letters to her which they leave on the windowsill and waking up in the morning they will find presents and candy.

24th of December

The churches are packed to overflowing on Christmas Eve as everyone visits the church for midnight mass. This evening is often celebrated with distant relatives like cousins and fish is the only meat that can be eaten for dinner.

25th Christmas Day

Babbo Natale (Santa), comes in the night and the children wake up to gifts under the Christmas tree.

Some families may head off to church in the morning and then close family gather for an extended lunch which can last up to four hours.

The menu is largely made up of traditional home cooking, starting off with Crostini and chicken liver, Prosciutto, salami and Tuscan bread baked without salt.

The main course could be pasta with wild boar and mushrooms; or pork tenderloin with peas, potatoes and white beans.

Most desserts are purchased in advance and include Panettone filled with orange peel and raisins, and Pandoro which may be filled with chocolate or custard. Other desserts include Panforte (nuts, fruit, honey in a compressed cake) and Ricciarelli, almond based cookies similar to macaroons. The meal is accompanied with plenty of Spumante!

During this extended luncheon you will have grandmothers asking why you are not eating more, grandfathers nodding off to sleep at the table and younger people happily dancing. By the time evening arrives no one could possibly face having supper.

26th of December

This is a day of recovery from the previous day’s festivities, with a lighter meal of Cappone. Cappone is a rooster, castrated before sexual maturity, and it used to be a delicacy all over the world due it’s juicy, buttery meat. The rooster is boiled and the broth which results from boiling is served as the starter. The Cappone is served with salad and this meal is only eaten at Christmas time.

New Year's Eve

On New Year’s Eve the Italians will wear red underwear in the hope of having good luck in the coming year. If you eat grapes and lentils on New Year’s Eve you will be assured of having enough money in the coming year.

Most families celebrate at home with their own fireworks and the menu will be a little more adventurous than the traditional Christmas menu with special foods like lobster or handmade ravioli.

New Year’s Day

On this day everyone wears something new to bring them good luck. During the course of the day the Italians will go for a walk along the sea shore or in the forest.

6th of January

Traditionally gifts in Italy were brought on the 6th of January by a poor old woman travelling on her broomstick called La Befana. (There are indications that she may be the same character known in Russia as Babushka). In a traditional Italian song she is described as ‘coming at night wearing broken shoes and with holes in her skirt, hooray, hooray for her!’

She too would drop small gifts, candy, fruit, nuts and up to twenty Euros down the chimney into a large sock hanging at the fireplace whilst the children slept. No child is perfect so there would inevitably be some coal (be it just candy coal) in the sock to indicate the La Befana had seen bad deeds. In only one generation this has changed with Santa quickly taking over as the more famous character.

On this day the Three Kings will be placed in the nativity scene and Christmas trees may be thrown away.

Silvia Acciaioli is fun loving and enthusiastic. She grew up in Florence and has lived in Germany and the United States. I am very grateful to her for her time and enthusiastically sharing with me the Italian traditions.