Christmas around the World: Italy

As we continue our “Christmas in July” celebration, we look at Christmas traditions in other countries. Today, we’ll look at Christmas in Italy. Below are just a few uniquely Italian holiday traditions:

• The Italian Christmas season isn’t limited to December 25. There are several special days, ranging from the Feast of St. Nicolas on December 6 to Epiphany on January 6.
• Traditional Italian Christmas foods include Italian Christmas dishes include baccalà (salted dried cod fish), vermicelli, baked pasta, capon, and turkey.
• Traditional Italian holiday decorations include a creche with a vaulted top and filled with the nativity scene figures. Many Italian cities hosts live tableaux of the manager scene.
• Italian holiday baked goods include panettone (cake filled with candied fruit),torrone (nougat with honey, almonds, and hazelnuts), and panforte (gingerbread).
• On Christmas Eve, La Befana, a kind of female Santa Claus, visits the children of Italy and fills their shoes with candy and small presents.

Buon Natale!

For more “Christmas in July” posts, see:
Creating a CD holiday tree, from Peggy at “Junk Creation”
Getting Ready for Holiday Quilting Season from Mary Emma at “Quilting and Patchwork”

^{(photo © pierricrblons/cc license)}