Dear Maria It’s Crhistmas time. I hope that Christmas holidays are very nice. For Christmas in Italy we make many decorations:Christmas tree and lights. My brother and I decorate the Christmas tree in our garden with little colorate balls and many lights. Outside the door my mum and I hang up a garland. My family is catholic then we make the crib and at midnight we go to church for the mass. Now I’ll tell you about some Christmas cakes: “Panettone” “Pandoro” “Struffoli”. My favourite cake is “Struffoli” that I prepare with my mum and my grandmother. This cake comes from Naples. At Christmas lunch we eat lasagna, meat with potatoes etc. After lunch we play cards and tombola. I love Christmas holiday. I hope you’ll tell me about your Christmas holidays. Love Alessia 2c Italian Christmas Holiday

Dear Carmen, I’m writing you, because I want to tell you about the traditions of Italy, during Christmas celebrations. Here, we decorate the Christmas’ tree and set the crib, where the baby Jesus remains under a veil, until 24 th of December at 12 P.M. At that same time Santa Claus brings presents for the little children. On Christmas’ Eve we don’t eat meat, but cheese or fish. At midnight we go to the Holy Mass. From Christmas to Epiphany, we eat the typical Christmas cakes: panettone, pandoro, panpepato and torrone. These are the most beautiful and longest holidays during the school year. At New Year’s Eve party we eat pork with lentils. page 1

. We dance, we play tombola, we have a very good time with our friends and if it is possible, with our family too. During these holidays in “Navona” square in Rome there is a very old tradition about Epiphany, “Befana” an old but good woman who brings toys to children. All the square is full of stalls with every kind of sweets, toys, and presents. It’s very nice walking through these coloured stalls full of light!! Italian Christmas Holiday

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS Dear Lisa, Christmas day in Italy is on the 25th December, and it is a very important day. Each family makes a very big and long dinner, we usually eat lamb and for dessert “PANETTONE” and “PANDORO”. The symbol of Christmas is Santa Claus. He lives in the North Pole, enters houses trough the chimney and he puts presents under the Christmas tree. Exchanging presents is important, too. My Christmas day is special because I have a large magic family, with many children. In Anguillara, my nice town, there is an old tradition: making a crib inside the water of the lake. There is also some charming music played by the Anguillara band, a big procession trough the town and sometimes the living crib. Anguillara people play the role of the Nativity characters. Love from Elisa II C

Italian Christmas Holiday Dear Emma, I want to tell you something about Anguillara’s Christmas traditions. We usually make Christmas tree and crib on 8th of December. But we put Jesus in the crib on 24th of December at midnight when father Christmas arrives for the children. Father Christmas arrives with presents. Before opening the presents, my family and I go to church. For Dinner we don’t eat meat, only fish!!! In my family after dinner, every child plays a poem, learnt at school. After midnight my family and I play cards, “ Giorno di Paga”, “Visual Game” and Bingo and we go to bed at six in the morning!! It’s very fun!! These are our traditions… I hope you’ll like them. Love from, Lisa II c

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY Dear Flora, last year I spent a good Christmas and I would tell you some of our traditions: one is the decoration of the Christmas tree. All the Christmas presents are placed under the Christmas tree and they are unwrapped on December 25th, in the morning. Close to the Christmas tree there is the crib; the cradle of the holy Infant is empty until December 24th in the evening. We usually spend the Christmas with our relatives and we eat sweets and special cakes as “Panettone”and “Pandoro”. We usually spend the Christmas day playing cards and tombola, as well. Children wait for Santa Claus and adults know that Christmas day is an occasion to stay together and live in harmony. These are the Italian traditions about Chrismas. Yours Maria Chiara IIC

Dear friends, how are you? I’m fine! Unfortunately, I can’t come there next month. Nine days ago it was Easter and I want to describe our Easter holidays. On Easter day my mother and I met our relatives. We went to my grandparents at one o’clock. In fact we usually meet for lunch. First of all, there were the hors-d’ oeuvre, with eggs, salami, savoury cakes…and stop! Because then there were pasta and meat with some vegetables and potatoes. After lunch, the adults drank the coffee and the children played together. But the children want the chocolate eggs! So, the relatives gave them the eggs and all people chatted about this and that… At about five or six p.m. some people left and my mother and I went home This was the Easter day. But the holidays are not finished! On the day after Easter, we celebrated Pasquetta. I don’t know the reasons for this festivity! But on this day we didn’t meet our relatives because we met our friends! I went to my friend’s house and my mother went to her friend’s house!!! Today I ‘ve Easter chocolate again! And what about your Easter? My English teacher told me you haven’t Easter like us! Write me soon Love, yours Giuly

Hi girls! How are you? I’m Alice, and I’m writing this letter to you to tell you about our Italian Easter holidays. They usually last about a week, which includes Easter day and also Easter Monday. At Easter, Italians usually have lunch with their relatives, (parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts,cousins, etc..), and in the evening they stay at home, or they go out to the cinema, or for a walk. The lunch is very big: we usually eat pasta or lasagna as a starter, and meat like lamb or veal as a main course. There are also salad, salami and typical Italian cake: Easter pizza. It’s a sweet cake which can be traditional, with sultanas or savoury (for examples with cheese), etc… this cake is usually eaten with salami: it’s very good. I don’t know if you eat Easter eggs, but they’re very tasty and we eat them a lot! Personally, I love them! This is our typical lunch on Easter day; so, at dinner we usually get only a bit or the remains of the lunch. I spent Easter day with my family, and I had a big lunch also with my grandparents and my uncle Massimo. We ate lasagna, meat and, of course, Easter cake. In the evening some friends of mine came to our house to celebrate also my mother’s birthday. We stayed together all the day and we enjoyed a lot! For dinner, we ate just a little bit and I went to bed. Italian also celebrate Easter Monday called “Pasquetta”. On this day, we usually have a pic-nic, or stay with our friends. I spent Pasquetta with my friends, and I enjoyed it very much!I got up late; at about ten a.m, and I went to one of my friends. I had lunch there, and then I spent all the day with some of my friends. Then I returned home at about ten p.m. Another Italian tradition is the mass the night between Easter Saturday and Sunday. It lasts about two hours, from ten in the evening. The day before, on Good Friday, the Ceremony of the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ is celebrated in Bracciano. It is very impressing because the population wears ancient Roman clothes. These were my Easter holidays. But they haven’t finished: we also celebrate the 25th April, the “day of the Liberation” of Italy during World War Two. They’re very relating! Now the school has restarted, and we have to go to school. But I’ve a question: do you celebrate Easter and Easter Monday(Pasquetta)? A lot of kisses to all of you! Aly