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Christmas in
Italy: Fun Activities for
the Home or Classroom Buon Natale ! Christmas in Italy is mainly a
religious holiday with the celebration centered around the nativity scenes in
church and home. Christmas in
Italy is rich in tradition and history.
Italian customs and traditions add so much to the beautiful
celebration of Christmas in America for families of Italian heritage and help
teach the younger family members about the value of their Italian
heritage.
The Christmas
season in Italy includes la festa di San Nicola that is
celebrated on December 6 and la festa di Santa Lucia, also
known as “The Festival of Lights,” that is celebrated on December 13. Il presepio is the nativity scene featuring the
Holy Family, i pastori (shepherds), i re magi (The Three Kings) and angels that is ubiquitous in the homes and churches in Italy
at Christmas time. Saint Francis
of Assisi created the first presepio. The figurines for il presepio are unique Italian
folk art that are sold in markets throughout Italy with the most famous
artisans and works coming from Naples.
Presepe
vivente – On
Christmas eve many small towns in Italy celebrate with the tradition of a
live nativity scene to act out the birth of Jesus just as Saint Francis of Assisi did in 1223 A.D. Complete with live animals, children play the roles of the
Holy Family with a newborn to play baby Jesus. Christmas carols
originated in Italy with Saint Francis of Assisi. The classic Christmas carols of Italy include Tu
scendi dalle stelle and Caro Gesú bambino. I zampognari are the shepherds who
live in the mountains and come to the towns at Christmas time to play their
traditional bagpipes and characteristic shepherd songs. They dress in the traditional shaggy
sheepskin vests, leggings and leather trousers.
Ceppo is an old Italian tradition known as
the “tree of light.” Also known
as the Italian Christmas pyramid, the ceppo is decorated with candles and holds a small manger,
decorations, candy, fruit and greenery.
The meal of la
vigilia di Natale (Christmas eve) is customarily meatless. Popularly known as the meal of seven
fishes (for the seven sacraments) it typically consists of fish and
seafood and may include capitone (eel), scungilli, calamari,
vongole and baccala. The Urn of Fate is an old tradition where people in
Italy give out gifts to family members from a large ornamental clay jar.
Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) has been
visiting the children of Italy since the period following World War II.
Tombola is a favorite game at Christmas time for
Italian families, who have been known to play late into the night. Tombola is a board game of
numbers comparable to Bingo. Christmas day is
an important religious holiday and an important family celebration in Italy
and America. A tradition in some
families has the youngest place the figurine of baby Jesus in il presepio
to recognize the birth of Gesú bambino. The family celebration of Christmas includes mass and a
traditional banquet. Traditional
Italian dolci of Christmas include panettone, biscotti,
pandoro, cartellate, pizzelle, panforte, struffoli and torrone. Capo d’anno
(the New Year) is welcomed with optimism for the future and
aspirations of prosperity and good health. Lentils are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day in Italy
as a symbol of good luck and prosperity. The celebration of the New Year presents the opportunity
to give up the “old” which is demonstrated by throwing old objects such as
broken plates and pots out the window on New Year’s Eve. La Befana is the benevolent old woman with magical
powers who brings gifts to the children of Italy on the eve of the Epiphany, to
commemorate the visit of The Three Kings. La Befana has been known to visit children of
Italian heritage in America and around the world. To learn more about La Befana go on-line to “The Legend of ‘La Befana’: Fun Activities for the Home or
Classroom” www.qc.edu/calandra/community/commbefa.html Coloring and
Activity Booklet: This coloring and activity booklet will teach children about some of the Italian words,
phrases, customs and traditions associated with the celebration of “Christmas in Italy. ”
The booklet contains a picture dictionary, vocabulary word images, coloring activities, word search, maze,
connect-the-dots, color by number, and more click here “Christmas in Italy” Story Books
for Children: Merry
Christmas, Strega Nona,
by Tomie de Paola (Voyager Books) (ISBN – 015253184x) Jingle the
Christmas Clown, by Tomie
de Paola (Putnam & Grosset Group) (ISBN - 0698116690) The Clown of
God, by Tomie de Paola
(Voyager Books) (ISBN - 0156181924) The Legend of
Old Befana, by Tomie de
Paola (Voyager Books) (ISBN - 0152438173) While some of the
customs, traditions and history of Christmas in Italy are outlined here,
there is much more information available in the websites and books listed
below: Websites: http://italian.about.com/mbody.htm Buon Natale! Christmas in Italy http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/italy.html Christmas in
Italy www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/traditions-italy.htm Italy – Buon
Natale www.initaly.com/regions/xmas/xmas.htm Christmas in
Italy www.notti.it/special/natale//welcomeb.html Christmas, New
Year and the Epiphany in Italy Books: Christmas in
Italy, by Kristin
Thoennes (Bridgestone Books) (ISBN - 0736800905) Christmas in
Italy, by World Book,
Inc. (ISBN - 0716608774) Christmas in
Italy, by Corrine Ross
(Passport Books) (ISBN - 0844280712) Italian
Holiday Customs and Traditions,
by the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, Order Sons of Italy in America - www.GaribaldiMeucciMuseum.org (718) 442-1608 Buon Natale ! [Return to the Community Programs page.] |
