FEASTS, FESTIVALS & HOLIDAYS

November

Immacolata Concezione (Immaculate Conception) on 8 December is a public holiday. Suvereto in Tuscany celebrates its Feste of the Wild Boar over the first ten days of the month. The streets fill with residents in mediaeval garb and, on 8 December the hunters come in and pile the tables high with wild boar meat. Organic wines, honeys, oils and other produce are also on sale.

During the entire Advent period (the 40 days preceding Christmas) Almost every village and city in Italy presents a unique, community Nativity Scene.
The Presepio (Nativity Scene) - this Italian invention is one of the oldest purely Christian traditions that has had a truly international impact. An anonymous Italian sculpted a bas-relief on an Early Christian sarcophagus in 342 AD which gives Italy claim to the earliest known depiction of Christ's birth - incorporating New Testament iconography with the Babe laid in a manger visited by shepherds (Luke 2:7-19), and the wise men from the east (Matthew 2:2), while the attending ox and donkey are derived from the Old Testament Isaiah (1:3). However, the first true presepio was invented by Saint Francis of Assisi. To celebrate Christmas of 1223, the medieval populist/Saint asked a landowner friend of his, Giovanni Vellita, to place an ox and an ass next to an empty manger filled with hay outside of the church he had rebuilt in Greccio (just outside his hometown).

Descriptions of this event have since been greatly exaggerated, but the simplicity of this first presepio is verified by St. Francis's biographers, St. Bonaventure and Thomas of Celano...no angels, no shepherds and no props. Naturally, the direct emotional appeal of this potent icon instituted by their founder had deep religious resonance with early Franciscans, who zealously promoted its use in all their churches worldwide. Along with the rapid growth of their new Order during the 1200's, they also spread the popularity of the presepio throughout Christendom, a popularity undiminished in Italy today.

During Advent (the 40 days preceding Christmas), churches and communities throughout Italy display a presepio as a reminder to the faithful of the coming of the Messiah, encouraging them to make a local pilgrimage to visit nearby churches and say a prayer of thanksgiving for the arrival of their Savior, just as Saint Francis originally intended. Most of the Nativity Scenes offered by the communities are elaborate, life-sized creations (many are stunning to say the least) and a good number of them are ongoing theatrical events incorporating live people. I have cited some of the most significant presepi here.
www.presepi.it/trad_reg/home_en.html
www.crecheandcross.com/francis.htm

December - from the 7th of December through the 10th of January
Gubbio
The Biggest Christmas Tree in the World according to the Guinness Book of World Records - but it's not a real tree...it's a collection of over 800 water-fountains that are illuminated (with over 12 kilometers of electrical cable) to form the shape of a gigantic illuminated Christmas Tree. The base of the tree starts at the last wood and stone house at the top edge of the historical center of town and rises up the side of Mount Igino to the summit where the star of the tree (a comet) is mounted on the cathedral of Sant'Ubaldo. This is the symbol of Gubbio at Christmas and is one of the most spectacular displays you'll ever witness! There are also life-sized artistic nativity scenes in Parco della Vittorina and a huge, decorated tree in the downtown area. This is an ancient Estrucian city that spellbinds the newcomer with its ancient ambience and is worth a visit at any time of the year.
www.bellaumbria.net/Gubbio/albero.jpg

December 25th / National Holiday all over Italy
Natale - Christmas Day - The commemoration of the birth of Christ.
The first Christmas celebration took place in Italy in the year 336, after the Emperor Constantine approved Christian worship in the Empire. The introduction of Santa Claus(affectionately deemed 'Babbo Natale' in Italian) into the Italian culture happened much more recently as the result of an overwhelmingly successful advertising campaign by the Coca Cola Company in the 1930's (according to some Italians, this is another example of how American capitalism has steamrollered Italian tradition). Here, as in many other parts of the world, the concepts of Santa Claus and commercialism are beginning to overshadow the true spiritual meaning of the holiday, but it is still considered one of the most sacred and holy holidays in Italy. For this reason, all stores, banks, public services and offices, businesses, newsstands and bars are closed. Everything, in other words, except the hearts and homes of the people who celebrate this holiday with the utmost reverence. Keep in mind that the day after is Santo Stefano and everything (except certain retail stores) remains closed just like on Christmas Day - (It's interesting that the traditional colors of Christmas - red, white and green - are the same as the Italian flag).
www.christmas.com/pe/1430
www.initaly.com/regions/xmas/xmas.htm

December 25th
Cittta di Castello
Father Christmas (Babbo Natale) arrives on December 25th by canoe.
www.argoweb.it/tifernate/tifernate.uk.html

DECEMBER 31st - National Holiday - Cappo di Anno
New Year's Eve - at midnight there are substantial public fireworks put on by most communities just like everywhere else in the world. Plus most ordinary Italians from the North to the South will be setting off an abundance of sparklers, firecrackers, cherry bombs, lady fingers and every grey market explosive that you can imagine (they are not hard to come by in Italy even though the law prohibits their sale). The cities of Rome, Milan, Bologna, Palermo and Naples put on huge outdoor events with pop and rock bands that attract thousands of revelers and are televised on the national channels. An old custom is to throw your old things out the window to signify your readiness to accept the New Year (so keep your eyes skyward!).

Capodanno - New Year's Day
There is a superstition that if the first person you meet when you go out on New Year's Day is a man, you will have a happy year. If it is a woman, well....(as I have never heard the rest of it, I can only hope that it means you will have health and wealth). Then there's a legend that refers back to Modena during a particularly bleak period in which the city was under siege from the troops of Pope Julius II in 1511. During that period residents suffered from food shortages and were forced to be a bit more inventive with their diet causing them to use such parts of the pig as were normally discarded such as the animal's legs. Ever since this lucky discovery, Italians have eaten stuffed pig legs, called zampone, as their most preferred choice for their New Year's Day Banquet. The leg is stuffed with pork and a variety of spices, boiled and then served. Lentils are a popular side dish because, according to legend, they represent money and should be eaten at the beginning of the year so they'll bring wealth and good fortune. All stores, banks, coffee bars, tobacconists, news stands and public offices are closed in observance of everyone recovering from the night before.