--- title: Christmas Season in Italy description: What are some Italian Christmas traditions? In this week's blog we talk about the special days, the traditions, and of course the food! image: https://www.tourissimo.travel/hubfs/Blog_pictures/Christmas%20in%20Italy/Christmas%20in%20Italy%20Blog.jpg --- [![Tourissimo](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hs-fs/hubfs/tourissimo_logo_1.png?width=250&height=86&name=tourissimo_logo_1.png "Tourissimo")](https://www.tourissimo.travel) [![Subscribe](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/505790/ddd8c08e-e883-4692-b319-f5091f8847ee.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/505790/ddd8c08e-e883-4692-b319-f5091f8847ee) ## Andiamo! The Tourissimo Blog # Christmas Season in Italy ![Silvia di Fiore](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hubfs/Blog_pictures/Silvia%20Blog.jpg) Posted by [Silvia di Fiore](https://www.tourissimo.travel/blog/author/silvia-di-fiore) on Dec 5, 2022 11:00:00 PM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Christmas season starts in Italy on the 8th of December, when the country celebrates l’Immacolata, the day of the Immaculate Conception.It is a Catholic festivity and celebrates the conception of the Virgin Mary as free from original sin and it is now a national holiday, with schools and offices closed. Despite the religious origin of the day, modern Italy associates this day with a rather more prosaic Christmas tradition: making the Christmas tree! ![Christmas in Italy 1](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_pictures/Christmas%20in%20Italy/Christmas%20in%20Italy%201.jpg?width=632&height=513&name=Christmas%20in%20Italy%201.jpg) I have always loved the beginning of December when the holiday vibration is perceived: in many Italian streets decorations and huge Christmas trees are displayed, presepi (Nativity scenes) are placed outside for all to see, and the Christmas smell, as I love to call it, of chestnuts, chimneys, mulled wine, and Italian delicacies, is perceived on every corner… Also, in some Italian cities, zampognari (bagpipe players) can delight you with merry songs. ![Christmas in Italy 3](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_pictures/Christmas%20in%20Italy/Christmas%20in%20Italy%203.jpg?width=643&height=428&name=Christmas%20in%20Italy%203.jpg) Each part of Italy has its own Christmas traditions and recipes, and it’s almost impossible to find foods that are eaten nationwide! I know it sounds crazy, but trust me: every family, in every city, in each region of the country has its own Christmas foods! From northern to central to southern Italy, Christmas food traditions change. For example, having a huge Christmas Eve dinner (cenone) is very popular in the south, while in northern and central Italy, people focus mainly on having a big lunch on December 25. However, most notably, all across Italy the Christmas Eve meal is a meat-free dinner, preferring fish and seafood. Traditionally, Italian Christmas Eve dinner is a meat-free meal. According to an old Catholic tradition, it’s meant to purify your body ahead of a religious celebration. So, instead of meat, it's all about seafood. You’ll often see marinated anchovies or tuna; baccala (codfish) served with potatoes; mussels in broth; clams with pasta; and, of course, lots of risotto. On Christmas Day, the menu features antipasti, cheese boards and charcuterie, baked pasta al forno, main course and the dessert - and sometimes even more than that. The main attraction of this meal though is definitely the roast. Pork, beef or lamb are all typical Italian Christmas meats. Alongside it comes lots of vegetables like green beans, carrots, roasted potatoes and parsnips. My family and I would be sitting at the table for hours! The holidays menu is not over without mentioning something that all Italians crave: wines! With a Christmas roast, a really nice Brunello di Montalcino or Super Tuscan red are the right options; for a white that can stand up to many types of food, Piedmont Arneis is an impeccable solution. For a perfect cin cin (a toast that sounds like glasses clinking), nice sparkling wines. ![Christmas in Italy 4](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_pictures/Christmas%20in%20Italy/Christmas%20in%20Italy%204.jpg?width=643&height=428&name=Christmas%20in%20Italy%204.jpg) After you've made it through all the courses, it's time for dessert. Some traditional Italian Christmas sweets include panettone and pandoro. Both are types of sweet bread with the main difference being that panettone contains candied fruit and raisins. If you’re celebrating in southern Italy, you’ll probably come across delicious spiced nut pastries known as mostaccioli. [*Learn more about panettone and pandoro in this blog.*](https://www.tourissimo.travel/blog/panettone-or-pandoro-an-italian-dilemma) You may think that the holiday is now over, but for the Italians the answer is still no: Christmas time in Italy is not complete up to January 6th, the day of the epiphany that is said to "take away the holidays" (L’epifania, tutte le feste porta via). The church celebrates this day as the day when the Three Kings arrived to see baby Jesus, an event usually marked by the addition of their figurines to the nativity scenes. Epiphany, in Italy, is synonym with a magical character called Befana, who makes its appearance on this day or, should I say, in the night between the 5th and 6th of January. ![Christmas in Italy 2](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_pictures/Christmas%20in%20Italy/Christmas%20in%20Italy%202.jpg?width=643&height=482&name=Christmas%20in%20Italy%202.jpg) La Befana looks like a witch and, on the night of the Epiphany, travels around Italy on her broomstick to brink a stocking full of sweets to the nice kids and a bucket of coal to the naughty ones! But she doesn’t stop there, as she would also sweep the floor to sweep away the problems of the previous year and leave the family with a fresh slate to go into the year ahead. Her housework, according to the tale, stopped her from venturing out with the three kings on the night they went off in search of baby Jesus. She went off herself later on, with a bag full of gifts for the newborn king. La Befana marks the official end of the festival season. In the afternoon or the next day, the Christmas decorations are put away until the next year. In Italian Merry Christmas is "Buon Natale," in Sicilian "Bon Natali," in Piedmontese "Bon Natal," and in Ladin (spoken in some parts of the northern Italian region of South Tyrol) "Bon/Bun Nadèl" ![Christmas in Italy Blog](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_pictures/Christmas%20in%20Italy/Christmas%20in%20Italy%20Blog.jpg?width=2240&height=1260&name=Christmas%20in%20Italy%20Blog.jpg)   Topics: [Italy Culture & Food](https://www.tourissimo.travel/blog/topic/italy-culture-food) #### Don’t just read about Italy…visit it with us! At Tourissimo, we are the Italy experts, and we offer walking and hiking tours throughout the country. Browse our [Tour Calendar](https://www.tourissimo.travel/upcoming-tours) or [contact us](https://www.tourissimo.travel/contact-us-active-travel-in-italy) today to get started. ### Share this post ### Related posts ![What is a Chef Bike Tour?](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hubfs/Chef%20Bike%20Tour%20Calabria/EF_2506_TourissimoCalabria-260.jpeg) [What is a Chef Bike Tour?](https://www.tourissimo.travel/blog/what-is-a-chef-bike-tour) ![Italian Cuisine Joins UNESCO (And We Are So Dang Proud Of It)](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hubfs/Images/Calabria/AdobeStock_177812293-1.jpeg) [Italian Cuisine Joins UNESCO (And We Are So Dang Proud Of It)](https://www.tourissimo.travel/blog/italian-cuisine-joins-unesco-and-we-are-so-dang-proud-of-it) ![Italy’s Blue Zone Lifestyle by Bike | Tourissimo Tours](https://www.tourissimo.travel/hubfs/Blue%20Zones%20in%20Italy.jpg) [Italy’s Blue Zone Lifestyle by Bike | Tourissimo Tours](https://www.tourissimo.travel/blog/italys-blue-zone-lifestyle-by-bike-tourissimo-tours) ## Subscribe to Andiamo! ### Subscribe to Andiamo! 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