This is how they celebrate Christmas in Italy
Italy is known for its delicious food. They like long and sociable dinners, which is why they have introduced Christmas lunch, instead of Christmas dinner. It involves extensive cooking and eating together with the whole family. Appetisers and a large main course, often consisting of two meat dishes, are no exception. They do not know a Boxing Day, so after Christmas Day, Christmas lunches are over. What other fun Christmas traditions do they know in the Italian Alps? Below are 3 of them!
Panettone
With dinner, often as a dessert, comes the traditional panettone. This is a yellowish, round cake filled with sucade, sultanas, nuts and sugared fruits. Originally from Milan, you will no doubt come across this cake if you celebrate Christmas in the Italian Alps.
Presepio, the Italian nativity scene
Although the nativity scene is a tradition in many Alpine countries, it is extra special in Italy. It is a true folk art that can be seen all over Italy around Christmas. Not only the stable, containing the birth of Jesus, is recreated, but even entire villages and landscapes, all containing moments from everyday life. The technique used to recreate this is called micro-architecture. Sometimes figurines of existing (deceased) people are also placed inside.
La Befana
On the night of 5-6 January in Italy, they celebrate La Befana. She is a small, old woman on a broom who hands out small presents to good children. The children hang a sock on the mantelpiece and put down a plate of tangerines, oranges and a glass of wine. The next morning, everything has been eaten and drunk and only a handprint of ash is visible on the plate. Inside the sock is a present, with a bit of ash or coal always at the bottom, because no child has been good all year.
The origin of the feast is debatable. Some say it derives from the Celts and Druids, who had their own rituals in the Alps. Others claim it was invented to encourage and strengthen the bond between family and ancestors, through the presents. Here, the children symbolise the ancestors. Finally, it is said that La Befana is derived from the Greek word ‘Epifania’. In the UK, we call this day Epiphany. La Befana brings presents in memory of the presents brought to the baby Jesus by I Re Magi, or the three kings.
Should you ever want to celebrate Christmas in the Italian part of the Alps, you now know what specialities you can taste and experience there. Don't have any holiday plans, but want to take in some of these Italian Christmas traditions yourself? You can of course bake a delicious panettone, but you can also set up a nativity scene. Want to be a bit more creative? Then you can also buy a bare nativity scene and pick individual figures to go with it. And how about a presepio, reminiscent of the way they recreate whole villages in Italy? You can make it as crazy as you want and of course go all out on designing a beautiful nativity scene.
Want to learn more fun Christmas traditions from the Alps? Then also read our article on Christmas traditions in France.
Buon Natale
