Christmas Traditions: Italian vs Italian American

How do Italians celebrate Christmas? Let’s dive into the festivities to see how Italian traditions compare to their Italian-American counterparts.

Buon Natale! Auguri di Buon Natale! Felice Anno Nuovo! 

Merry Christmas! We wish you a merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

The sentiment is the same. Christmas is a treasured time of year to spend with family for both Italians and Italian-Americans. But here is something you may not have known: Christmas in Italy is synonymous with bagpipe music. That’s right. Throughout the holiday season, bagpipers known as zampognari, roam the streets sharing their Christmas music much like Christmas carolers. They dress as shepherds to mimic the shepherds who visited baby Jesus in the manger.

The Feast of Seven Fishes:

The most common question asked about the Christmas season by Italian-Americans is about the Feast of Seven Fishes: Is it really an Italian tradition?

Well… Yes and No. 

It is true that Italians typically eat fish on Christmas Eve during La Vigilia di Natale. But the Feast of Seven Fishes is an Italian-American creation. A meat free meal is seen as a way to purify the body to show devotion and respect according to Catholic tradition. Baccalà, dried and salted cod, is a popular Italian dish served during La Vigilia. 

Baccalà - salted fish traditionally eaten around the holidays.

The Christmas Season in Italy:

December 6th: La Festa di San Nicola (St. Nicolas Day). Mercatini di natale, Christmas shops, begin to pop up around this time.

December 8th: Immaculate Conception, the first official day of the Christmas season known for tree lighting. The 8th is the day Italians decorate their albero di natale (Christmas tree) with addobbi natalizi (Christmas decorations) and top it with a star, angel, or a point (puntale).

December 13th: La Festa di Santa Lucia, instead of eating bread, only rice and potatoes- and traditionally arancine are eaten instead.

December 24th: La Vigilia di Natale. Celebrated with a big Christmas Eve dinner, followed by a game of Tombola (a lottery game kind of like bingo). Seafood dishes served on La Vigilia usually include items like spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti al nero di seppia, orata al forno, and capitone in umido. The Vatican holds la messa della Vigilia (Midnight Mass) at 9:30 PM and televises it for all to see. Italians typically open gifts after midnight mass on the 24th of December.

December 25th: Christmas Day is celebrated with a large communal Christmas lunch. Typical dishes include tortellini in brodo, agnolotti, lasagne, pasta al forno, vitello o pollo arrosto, brodo di cappone, and for desert, of course pandoro or panettone, torrone (nougat), and struffoli. Children write letters to Babbo Natale, AKA Santa Claus, who visits their homes on a sled, entering through a chimney or window.  

December 26th: Il giorno di Santo Stefano. Observing Saint Stefano’s day began in 1949 as a day of rest and recovery.

December 31st: Il Veglione - big party in piazza waiting for midnight. (same thing) La Festa di San Silvestro - New Year’s Eve. Italians watch a special TV program at midnight: Il Concerto di Capodanno (a televised music concert) and celebrate with fireworks. Not unlike the Italian-American tradition of watching the NYC Ball Drop accompanied by live music performances and fireworks.

January 6th: Il Giorno Dell’Epifania & La Befana: This celebration marks the end of the holiday season, the traditional day of gift sharing in Italy. The witch, La Befana comes to fill your stocking with regali (gifts) if you’ve been good, or coal if you’ve been bad, not unlike Santa Claus. The tradition is thought to come from ancient Roman times when the goddess Janus gave gifts to those who had been good throughout the year. La Befana rides her broom and sweeps the floor, driving away all of the problems from the previous year.

A common practice here in Italy is the tradition of presepe (nativity scene). Neighbors open their homes to each other to show off their nativity scene. Many of these nativity scenes are set on a ceppo - a wooden pyramid structure with shelves. On the ceppo the nativity scene is displayed  on the bottom shelf with candles, candies, fruit, and small gifts on the upper shelves. 

Something you may have never heard about before is the tradition of the midnight ski. In Northern Italy they take to the slopes on Christmas Eve night after midnight mass with flashlights and torches to light the way. 

If your Christmas wish is to learn more about your Italian heritage, book a free consultation.