In Italy, just like in all countries around the world, Christmas is undoubtedly the most important festivity of the year. Everyone, Catholic or not lives the same magical atmosphere and shares the same spirit of peace and joy during the days before 25 th December.

The birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated in many different ways. Even if each country can boast a proper, original way to celebrate it, the basic traditions are the same around the world and our country does not differ. So in Italy too all the cities, from the biggest to the smallest, are decorated with enormous trees, usually firs, glazing with multicolored balls and decorations. In churches and in many homes it is common to find the reproduction of scenes of the Nativity, the so-called cribs, often masterpieces of architecture and craftsmanship.

Also the traditional figure of Santa Klaus is now common everywhere to everybody in our country and our children look forward to receiving presents from him.

All the Christmas traditions and the religious rites linked to it begin with the Advent, a period from 1st December to Christmas Eve. This is the most enchanting period of the year with shops, houses and cities overflowing with colours and sounds. The night of 24th, Christmas Eve, people generally go to church for the traditional Midnight Mass. To stress the real meaning of Christmas, during Mass not only prayers but also Christmas carols are sung.The most popular Italian Christmas carol is “Tu scendi dalle stelle”. The following day too is dedicated to the religious rite of Mass with churches overcrowded with people who, after wishing each other Merry Christmas, come back home to have the traditional Christmas lunch.

Our Christmas time also includes New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Just like the rest of the world, Italy too welcomes the new year in different, original ways. On New Year’s Eve it is tradition to throw old things away. So that, it is rather dangerous to walk at night time, because you can be easily hit by old plates or flying glasses. As a good luck charm we wear red underwear and eat a dish of lentils. The new year is welcomed by impressive fireworks, balls and concerts in the cities squares and the traditional toast with champagne at midnight.

If Italy does not differ from the rest of the world, following the common tradition of big Christmas trees and cribs, it also presents original aspects, linked to our cultural background. First of all, in Italy the so-called Christmas time lasts longer, because it also includes Epiphany, on 6 th January of the new year, which is still a very important in our country. It traditionally marks the end of the festive time, when the Christmas tree and the Crib, which are traditionally made the 8 th of December, are unmade and schools reopen. But the Epiphany has also a more important meaning. For centuries, the typical character of the Epiphany, la Befana, replaced the figure of Santa Klaus or Father Christmas, who is quite recent in Italy. In fact in the night between the 5 th and 6 th January, “Befana”, an ugly, old woman, is supposed to bring presents to children riding a broom and carrying a really heavy bag. Flying on her broom in the winter sky, she slides down the chimneys and fills the stockings that children put on the fireplace with sweets and toys. The tradition wants that she gives sweets and toys to the good children and coal to the bad ones.

For the families all around the world, Christmas is still the occasion to stay together and exchange gifts as a sign of mutual affection. The Italian family doesn’t make an exception and Christmas is still synonymous with big families gathered around the fireplace, chatting and enjoying themselves. But Christmas is also synonymous of food. It is the culinary field where each country marks even more its originality and diversity presenting a big variety of recipes. This is also the field where our country offers its best tradition. Christmas dinner, Christmas lunch, New Year’s Dinner and New Year’s lunch are true gastronomic tour de force, with and a great variety of food and several courses. Menùs can be different, with recipes transmitted over the centuries and with regional and local variations. They can be a revisiting of old recipes, but they can be also influenced by typical ingredients from other parts of the world.

The 26 th December, the day after Christmas is called Saint Stephen, after the name of the first Christian martyr. This day is usually spent at home, just relaxing or recovering from too much eating.