Saturday, January 26, 2008


Here's Michaella's history of Christmas and some facts on Italian Christmas traditions. We've also included a photo of Addison and Michaella playing with the dreidel.

Christmas Beginnings and Italian Christmas traditions

Christmas was not started as the celebration of the birth of Christ, but as the rebirth of the sun. It started with the celebration of the winter solstice which falls on Dec. 21 or 22. The solstice is when the days begin to get longer and the sun is said to be reborn.

There were similar celebrations around the Mediterranean Sea. In Egypt, the people celebrated the birth of the sun god, Horace. In Greece, they honoured Dionysis, the god of vegetation and fertility. In Scandinavian countries, they celebrated the birth of Frey on December 25. Frey was their fertility god, responsible for bringing sunshine and rain necessary for good harvests. The Romans held a festival in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The festival was to ask Saturn to give them a plentiful harvest. Even though the sun was not yet at its most powerful, it showed promise of the spring to come. Much of the food that was stored was used in the feast and people gave each other magnificent gifts.

When Christians started to celebrate the nativity, it first fell on April 25, then June 24, and later January 6. The first fathers of the Christian church did not like that the pagan festivals continued. The people would not give them up. The church decided to make the feast of the birth of Christ on Dec. 25 so that the honour that was given to the pagan gods could be changed to the one true God, Christ.

At first there was a lot of trouble about the change but a wise church father, Saint Augustine, changed a lot of people’s minds. He would tell his followers, “Remember that we are celebrating today not the birth of the sun, but to honour God who created it.”

The Italians that live in Italy today are descended from the Romans that once worshipped Saturn. Many Italians today are Christians and celebrate Christmas differently than their ancestors.

Children in Italy get gifts from a little witchlike, wrinkled old lady known as La Befana. The story states that she was busy cleaning her house when the Three Wise Men came to ask her to help them find the Christ Child. She refused saying she had too much to do. The next day, La Befana changed her mind and decided to try and catch up to the wise men. She is said to still be looking for the Christ Child. She slides down the chimney on her broom handle going into houses and looks down on children always asking, “Is this the child?” She then leaves candy and toys for good children and stones, charcoal or ashes for bad children. This takes place on January 6, the day of Epiphany.

Christmas in Italy starts the beginning of the novena (eight days before Christmas) and continues until after Twelfth-night which is the Feast of Epiphany. Christmas is a time for visits from relatives and friends. Children talk about plans and practice plays and poems to tell the Christmas story at school. They go from place to place reciting Christmas poems and songs which they are given coins for, then they can go and buy treats.

All families that can, display a presepio which is a nativity scene. The best and biggest presepio is in Rome at the Ara Coeli Church. From its high platform, children like to deliver little sermons, poems and tell the story of Jesus.

In some places, a strict fast is held for 24 hours before Chirstmas Eve. After the fast, each family has as big a feast as they can afford. Then everyone picks a present from the “Urn of Fate”. At sunset the cannon is fired from the Castle of St. Angelo in Rome to tell of the opening of the Holy Season. Everyone goes to the churches by 9:00 p.m. to watch the procession of the church officials and participate in the mass.

Children in Rome go to the Piazza Navona Christmas market. There people sell unusual items to decorate their manager. They can hear bagpipers playing Christmas songs and they visit Santa Claus and his sleigh.

In other parts of Italy, Christmas begins with Midnight Mass. Families eat a traditional Christmas Eve meal of fish and many types of fried foods. Christmas dinner is traditionally a stuffed chicken. Families also make sweet bread called panettone that is made with candied fruit. They also have tangerines, sparkling wine and torrone, which is a white candy made with nuts. Each region in Italy has its own traditions about Christmas candies and cakes.

There are different traditions in the way that people wait for Midnight Mass. One region leaves the table filled with food and the door open so that people in trouble or the poor feel welcome to come and eat. Another town acts out the story of the nativity in the open fields. Everyone comes to pay honour to the Holy Family on Christmas night. They hold a competition to decide who will be Mary, mother of Jesus.

In the south of Italy, fires are lit in the town squares and each family brings pieces of wood. As the fire is being lit, everyone exchanges good wishes. This tradition is held in the homes where the head of the family lights the largest log. Smaller pieces of wood are arranged around the big piece for each member in the family.

In the province of Cosenza and other places, it is believed that on Christmas Eve, the animals in the manger were given the gift of speech. Farmers give their animals plenty of special food so that at midnight, when the animals can talk, they will not say how cruel their owners are.

It is believed that Jesus brings gifts for children on Christmas night. In the morning, the streets fill with the children showing off their gifts that they found under their tree or by their manger.

As you can see there are many traditions that are celebrated in the country of Italy. Some of these traditions date back to the early Roman celebrations like the feast and giving of gifts. Some of the traditions are much newer like La Befana and Santa Claus. People in Italy set out their nativity scenes and celebrate the Birth of Jesus in their homes and churches as do many other people around the world.

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