Christmastime in Italy is an incredible experience, beginning with decorations for the season. The first signs of Christmas start in the cities and villages themselves being dressed in lights, each street often having differently shaped lights crisscrossing overhead. It is lovely to wander the streets with a canopy of white lights and wish people Buon Natale (literally: Good Nativity)!

Traditionally, the main focus of Christmas decorations in Italy is the Nativity scene, known as presepe or presepio. Every church has a presepe and they can also be found in squares, stores, and public spaces. Displays often go beyond the manger scene and may even include a representation of the entire village. The Nativity scene is said to have originated in 1223 in the Italian town of Greccio when St. Francis of Assisi constructed a scene in a cave and held Christmas Eve mass along with a nativity pageant. The town now reenacts the event each year.

Figurines for nativity scenes are made in many parts of Italy, but often the best ones come from Naples and Sicily. Presepi are not usually set out until December 8, on the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and they are displayed through January 6. Many people will also set up a Christmas crib in their homes. Although the presepe is usually set up before Christmas, baby Jesus is not added until Christmas Eve.

Christmas celebrations begin 8 days before Christmas Day, a period known as Novena. During Novena, and especially in villages outside the cities, it is typical for children to dress as shepherds and travel house to house reciting Christmas poems and singing for the residents. The children are then given coins to buy gifts. Italian children also write Christmas letters, but instead of sending their letters to Santa (known as Babbo Natale in Italy), the children write to their parents. The letters are then placed under the father’s plate and read after Christmas Eve dinner has been concluded.

A limited diet is observed for 24 hours before Christmas Eve because it is followed by a celebration feast! The Italians are known for their cooking, therefore, this feast becomes a spectacular display of families coming together and sharing dishes that have been passed down for generations. Just as Italians are very regional with their foods, they also have specific recipes for Christmas, including a sweet bread called panettone, filled pasta parcels in delicious broth called tortellini en brodo, and a traditional dish of eel called cenone, which is enjoyed on Christmas Eve.

While Christmas is over by December 26 in America, Christmas Eve is only the beginning of the celebration for Italians. They continue the festivities through January 6, a date known as Epiphany, and this period is the most important time to spend with family and to observe the importance of the season. On January 6, the Christmas period concludes with a special celebration during which the children receive their gifts. According to tradition, the presents are delivered by an “ugly” older woman called Befana who arrives on a broomstick. Legend states that Befana was told of Jesus’s birth by the three wise men, but she was busy and delayed visiting the baby Jesus. She missed the Star and lost her way, and she has been flying around ever since, leaving gifts at every house with children in case he is there. Befana slides down chimneys and fills stockings and shoes with good things for good children, and it is said she leaves coal for children who are not as good. With this final tradition on Epiphany, the Christmas season officially comes to a close in Italy.