Christmas in Italy

Buon Natale! Christmas is a magical time in Italy, being steeped in Catholic tradition. While we eagerly count the days until our students return to Italy for the beginning of their winter term, let’s take a festive journey through some of Italy’s many fascinating Christmas traditions of their own that we can participate in. 

St. Francis and the Nativity Scene
Having a Nativity Scene as a reminder of the season during Christmas time is a very common household decoration, but did you know that this beloved tradition began with St. Francis of Assisi? After visiting the historical birthplace of Jesus on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1223, St. Francis returned inspired to recreate the scene after Mass in a humble cave in Greccio, where he invited other members of his order and the townspeople to join him in psalms of praise. St. Bonaventure wrote about this event, as he was a commentator and follower of St. Francis, writing:

“It happened in the third year before his death, that in order to excite the inhabitants of Grecio to commemorate the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, [St. Francis] determined to keep it with all possible solemnity; and lest he should be accused of lightness or novelty, he asked and obtained the permission of the sovereign Pontiff. Then he prepared a manger, and brought hay, and an ox and an ass to the place appointed. The brethren were summoned, the people ran together, the forest resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made glorious by many and brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise.”

Novena di Natale
Another Catholic Christmas tradition that began in Italy is the Novena di Natale, or Christmas Novena, beginning on December 16 and lasting until Christmas day, blending together prayer, music, and community. The novena began in 1720 in a missionary house of Vincentians in Turin, whose members included Father Carlo Antonio Vacchetta and Blessed Sebastiano Valtre, who both encouraged the faithful to contemplate on the mystery of the Incarnation and birth of Christ. The text for the novena was originally set to music, and it gained much popularity throughout Italy. It spread through Turin and in Piedmont, and through the whole country. Today, cities and towns have processions for the nine days leading up to Christmas which are led by Zampognari, bagpipers dressed as traditional shepherds, drawing the people together to pray the novena. 

The Art of the Presepe
The city of Naples is also known for artisan “presepi,” or crib scenes on Via San Gregorio Armenoa. This pedestrian street is one of the most famous attractions in the historic city of Naples, filled with craftsmen and shops with creative nativity scenes that include the Holy Family and much more, such as surrounding Italian towns and local features, including pizzerias, bakeries, pasta stands, marketplaces, and much more. These shops attract more than half a million tourists from around the world during Christmas time. People can make their own Neapolitian crib scenes with houses, mountains, bridges, cafes, farms, and much more. 

Christmas Eve Feasts
La Festa dei Sette Pesci, or the Feast of the Seven Fishes, has been a tradition in Italy and also for Italian-Americans for centuries. It was a typical custom to abstain  from meat through advent, similar to Lent, so Catholics would have a feast on Christmas Eve, “la vigilia,” consisting of fish before they went to Midnight Mass. Many dishes include baccalà (salted cod), eel, shrimp, calamari, scungilli (conch), scallops, squid, or clams. Although the specific dishes vary, each recipe brings families together in joyful anticipation of the Christmas Feast. 

From the glow of Greccio’s first Nativity scene to the bustling streets of Naples, Italy’s Christmas traditions are woven together with faith and artistry with timeless beauty. As we go through our own Christmas traditions, we are reminded of the deeper message of this season – of hope, love, and the joy of Christ’s birth. As we head into the final few days of Advent, may this season fill your heart with peace, your home with joy, and your table with traditions, both new and old.