As you may know, Christmas tradition differs from one country to another. In Italy, traditions are very different than in Canada, here’s a few example

Italians start everything on December 8

First, Italians have a special date to start decorating, the 8th. They put up all their decorations and in Rome, they lift up the 28 meters Christmas tree.

keep an eye out for bagpipe players 

The eight days before Christmas are very special (they are also known as the novena).Every day, you can see people dancing and hear cheerful songs and even bagpipe..

Presepi, presepi, and more presepi

In many, many, many churches nativity scene are displayed. Presepi(nativity scene in Italian) are very popular in Naples, they are handmade, elaborate and really pretty.

Don’t eat meat on Christmas Eve…

To purify their bodies, Italians don’t eat meat on Christmas Eve.To replace it, they often eat up to seven fish dishes.

…but do go to midnight Mass… or put on skis?

After the dinner, many Italians go to the midnight mass at church. Some Romans even go to Vatican to celebrate with the pope. But, traditions vary, in some cities such as Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomite Mountain people don’t go pray, they grab their lanterns and go skiing in the dark, cheering and having fun to welcome Christmas.

On Christmas Day, eat.

After the light Christmas eve meal, Italians are ready to eat some more. That is why on Christmas day they can eat all day long. Everybody brings food and the most traditional dishes are on the menu: panettone, pasta in brodo, pandoro and more!

The festivities don’t end on December 25

The fun doesn’t end on December 25 it extends into December 26 with the national holiday of Santo Stefano; families get together and eat the leftovers.

written by Juliette, edited by Clara Fiset