L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 15 L'Italo-Americano Buon Natale: celebrating Christmas the Italian way A lthough things are chang- i n g f a s t , C h r i s t m a s i n Italy still is one, if not the most, traditional time of the year and many Italian house- holds have a series of family traditions they like to repeat each year, no matter how old the kids get or how dire the econo- my can be. Ask two Italians how they celebrate Christmas and most likely you will receive answers that are completely dif- f e r e n t , a s c e l e b r a t i o n s v a r y based on Christmas Eve versus Christmas day, lunch versus dinner, and many, many other aspects. Christmas, of course, begins much earlier than December 25th: while no Italian family would ever dream of putting up the Christmas tree in November, nowadays the old rule of doing it on December 8th, day of the Immaculate Conception, is no l o n g e r s t r i c t l y f o l l o w e d . Families with young children usually decorate their houses and tree on December 1st – so the kids finally stop asking to do it – while in Milano the day for putting up the Christmas tree is December 7th, Saint Ambrogio, beloved patron saint of the city. Besides the tree and the usual decorations – wreaths, ribbons and angels – most families like to display a presepe, a nativity scene, that can be as small as just St. Joseph, the Virgin Mary, Baby Jesus, a donkey and an ox, or as a large as an entire village filled with shepherds, sheep, and market goers. When it comes to presents and, especially, to who is the one bringing them, there are also some regional variations. On December 6th, the mountain t o w n s a n d v i l l a g e s o f t h e province of Bolzano, Trieste and Belluno, joyously celebrate Saint Nicholas, an old benevo- lent man dressed in bishop gar- m e n t s t h a t b r i n g s g o o d k i d s sweets and presents. His arrival is greeted with glee and happi- ness in town squares and in the s t r e e t s , b u t t h e S a i n t i s n o t alone: along with him arrive the Krampus, monstrous devils who are out looking for those who have been naughty. This devils, all dressed in rags, chase kids – and pretty girls – around, trying to catch them and trying to dirty their face with coal. The result is a loud, but fun and harmless, chase that amuses everyone in town and brings all the popula- tion together for a night that usually ends up with hot choco- late, hot mulled wine and many s w e e t s a n d c o o k i e s . O n D e c e m b e r 1 2 t h , m a i n l y i n Emilia Romagna, but also in Veneto and Sicily, Saint Lucia is the one bringing presents to kids who have behaved well during the year and, traditional- ly, she arrives in town riding her donkey: kids leave her a cup of tea in the kitchen before going to sleep and hope to wake up to find presents and sweet left by the saint. In the rest of Italy eith er B ab b o N atale – S an ta C l a u s – o r B a b y J e s u s a r e i n charge of delivering presents CHIARA ASSI during the night between the 24th and the 25th of December. Menus, too, vary a lot. On Christmas Eve, tradition dic- t a t e s t h a t o n e s h o u l d n ' t e a t meat, which results in large and extravagant meals that feature an incredible variety of seafood, from oysters to clams, from sea bass to shrimp. On Christmas Day, on the other hand, the tra- ditional Christmas lunch is all about meat: while some families like to roast a stuffed turkey, some others prefer roast beef or venison. All the leftover food get eaten on December 26th, also a holiday in Italy, which is Saint Stephen day and is mostly dedicated to eating and relax- ing. When it comes to dessert and sweets, each family has its f a v o r i t e : w h i l e s o m e s w e a r Christmas isn't really Christmas without panettone, the tradition- al sweet bread with candied fruit from Milan, others prefer p a n d o r o , a f l u f f y b r e a d l i k e cake from Verona. All seem to l i k e t o r r o n e – h a r d o r s o f t nougat with hazelnuts and pista- chios – and mandorlato, a spe- cial candy made with honey and almonds. The Christmas festivities end on January 6th with one last beloved tradition: the Befana. This old lady, dressed in rags, is said to arrive riding a broom on the night of January 5th to leave sweets in the stocking of good kids and coal in the one of those who have been naughty during the past year. As children go to s l e e p , t h e i r p a r e n t s c h a n t a rhyme and remind them to keep t h e i r e y e s s h u t , o r e l s e t h e B e f a n a w o n ' t s h o w u p . T h e n e x t m o r n i n g , a s k i d s p l a y , a d u l t s s t a r t p u t t i n g t h e Christmas decorations away and get ready to go back to every- day life for at least another 11 months. Christmas preparation begins much earlier than December 25th The Befana, is said to arrive riding a broom on the night of January 5th to leave sweets or coal ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

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