Christmas in Italy


Christmas in Italy begins on 8 December, with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the day on which traditionally the Christmas tree is mounted and ends on 6 January, of the following year with the Epiphany, and in some areas female puppets are burned on a pyre, to symbolize, along with the end of the Christmas period, the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one. 26 December, is also a public holiday in Italy. The Italian term Natale derives from the Latin natalis, which literally means 'birth', and the greetings in Italian are buon Natale and felice Natale.
The tradition of the nativity scene comes from Italy. One of the earliest representation in art of the nativity was found in the early Christian Roman catacomb of Saint Valentine. The first seasonal nativity scene, which seems to have been a dramatic rather than sculptural rendition, is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis' 1223 nativity scene in Greccio is commemorated on the calendars of the Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican liturgical calendars, and its creation is described by Saint Bonaventure in his Life of Saint Francis of Assisi. Nativity scenes were popularised by Saint Francis of Assisi from 1223, quickly spreading across Europe. It seems that the first Christmas tree in Italy was erected at the Quirinal Palace at the behest of Queen Margherita, towards the end of the 19th century. Mount Ingino Christmas Tree in Gubbio is the tallest Christmas tree in the world. In Italy, the oldest Christmas market is considered to be that of Bologna, held for the first time in the 18th century and linked to the feast of Saint Lucy. Typical bearers of gifts from the Christmas period in Italy are Saint Lucy, Christ Child, Babbo Natale, and, on Epiphany, the Befana.
According to tradition, the Christmas Eve dinner must not contain meat. A popular Christmas Day dish in Naples and in southern Italy is eel or capitone, which is a female eel. A traditional Christmas Day dish from northern Italy is capon. Abbacchio is more common in central Italy. The Christmas Day dinner traditionally consists by typical Italian Christmas dishes, such as agnolini, cappelletti, agnolotti pavesi, panettone, pandoro, torrone, panforte, struffoli, mustacciuoli, bisciola, cavallucci, veneziana, pizzelle, zelten, or others, depending on the regional cuisine. Christmas on 25 December is celebrated with a family lunch, also consisting of different types of pasta and meat dishes, cheese and local sweets.

History

early, and by the 4th century, Christmas was first celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church established December 25th as the official date for Christmas, aligning it with the Roman festival of Sol Invictus, which was celebrated around the same time. This helped to ease the conversion of pagan customs into Christian celebrations.
Sol Invictus, "Invincible Sun" or "Unconquered Sun", was the official sun god of the late Roman Empire and a later version of the god Sol. The emperor Aurelian revived his cult in 274 AD and promoted Sol Invictus as the chief god of the empire. From Aurelian onward, Sol Invictus often appeared on imperial coinage, usually shown wearing a sun crown and driving a horse-drawn chariot through the sky. His prominence lasted until the emperor Constantine I legalized Christianity and restricted paganism. The last known inscription referring to Sol Invictus dates to AD 387, although there were enough devotees in the 5th century that the Christian theologian Augustine found it necessary to preach against them.
In recent years, the scholarly community has become divided on Sol between traditionalists and a growing group of revisionists. In the traditional view, Sol Invictus was the second of two different sun gods in Rome. The first of these, Sol Indiges, or Sol, was believed to be an early Roman god of minor importance whose cult had petered out by the 1st century AD. Sol Invictus, on the other hand, was believed to be a Syrian sun god whose cult was first promoted in Rome under Elagabalus, without success. Some fifty years later, in 274 AD, Aurelian established the cult of Sol Invictus as an official religion. There has never been consensus on which Syrian sun god he might have been: some scholars opted for the sky god of Emesa, Elagabal, while others preferred Malakbel of Palmyra. In the revisionist view, there was only one cult of Sol in Rome, continuous from the monarchy to the end of antiquity. There were at least three temples of Sol in Rome, all active during the Empire and all dating from the earlier Republic.
Before the unification of Italy, a large part of the Italian peninsula was part of the Papal States. After the unification in 1860, due to French aid, the Pope maintained control over Rome and Lazio. This ended on 20 September 1870, shortly after the defeat of Napoleon III. The Kingdom of Italy moved its capital to Rome and the Catholic Church lost any remaining temporal power.
The defeat of the Pope by the Kingdom of Italy gave rise to a long period of antagonism between ecclesiastical and Italian powers. This resulted in the Catholic Church suggesting its believers not to take part in the affairs of the country and the consequent secularisation of Italian politics. The Kingdom of Italy and the Catholic Church managed to reapproach under Fascist Italy with the stipulation of the Lateran Treaty. Among other things, the treaty allowed for the foundation of the Vatican City, a microstate over which the Holy See has full jurisdiction. The Lateran Treaty survived the fall of Fascism and the establishment of the Republic and was significantly amended in 1984.
One of Italy's most iconic Christmas traditions is the presepe or nativity scene. The custom is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, who, in 1223, created the first living nativity scene in Greccio to help bring the Christmas story to life for the people. Over time, the presepe became a beloved tradition, with families and towns creating intricate displays of the nativity. Naples is particularly famous for its elaborate presepi, which often include a wide array of figures and even scenes of daily life from 18th-century Naples.

Generality

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December is a national holiday in Italy. Christmas decorations, including the presepe, as well as the Christmas tree, are usually put up on this day. 26 December, is also a public holiday in Italy. Festivities extend to the end of the year and then to the Epiphany on 6 January.
In Italy, Saint Stephen's Day became a public holiday in 1947, where previously it was a normal working day; the Catholic Church also celebrates it as a religious holiday, even if not as a precept, as it is in Germany and other German-speaking countries. The reason for the public holiday in Italy, not required by the Catholic Church despite the fame of the saint, is to be found in the intention of prolonging the Christmas holiday, creating two consecutive public holidays, which also happens in the case of Easter Monday, a non-religious holiday. Before 1947, the two days were working days, with banks and offices open.
Traditions regarding the exchanging of gifts vary from region to region, as this may take place either on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day. Presents for children are left underneath the Christmas tree either by Santa Claus or, according to older traditions, by Baby Jesus himself. In some regions children receive gifts earlier or later. On 6 January decorations are usually taken down, and in some areas female puppets are burned on a pyre, to symbolize, along with the end of the Christmas period, the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one.
Christmas is celebrated in Italy in a similar fashion to other Western European countries, with a strong emphasis given to the Christian meaning of the holiday and its celebration by the Catholic Church, also reinforced by the still widespread tradition of setting up the presepe, a tradition initiated by Saint Francis of Assisi. It is quite common to attend Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and practice the old custom of abstinence from meat on the day.
The Christmas Day dinner traditionally consists of typical Italian Christmas dishes, such as agnolini, cappelletti, agnolotti pavesi, capon, lamb, eel, panettone, pandoro, torrone, panforte, struffoli, mustacciuoli, bisciola, cavallucci, veneziana, pizzelle, zelten, or others, depending on the regional cuisine. Christmas on 25 December is celebrated with a family lunch, also consisting of different types of pasta and meat dishes, cheese and local sweets.

Religious celebrations

Starting from 16 December and until Christmas Eve, the Christmas novena is recited in the Catholic Church.
On 24 December, Christmas Eve, the Christmas night mass, also called Midnight Mass, is celebrated. On the night of 31 December, New Year's Eve, in the evening mass of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Te Deum is typically sung as a sign of gratification for the past year.

Saint Stephen's Day

In Italy, Saint Stephen's Day became a public holiday in 1947, where previously it was a normal working day; the Catholic Church also celebrates it as a religious holiday, even if not as a precept, as it is in Germany and other German-speaking countries. The reason for the public holiday in Italy, not required by the Catholic Church despite the fame of the saint, is to be found in the intention of prolonging the Christmas holiday, creating two consecutive public holidays, which also happens in the case of Easter Monday, a non-religious holiday, but which only wants to lengthen Easter. Before 1947 the two days were working days, with banks and offices open.

Popular traditions

Nativity scene

The tradition of the nativity scene comes from Italy. One of the earliest representation in art of the nativity was found in the early Christian Roman catacomb of Saint Valentine. It dates to about AD 380. Another, of similar date, is beneath the pulpit in Sant'Ambrogio, Milan.
The first seasonal nativity scene, which seems to have been a dramatic rather than sculptural rendition, is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis' 1223 nativity scene in Greccio is commemorated on the calendars of the Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican liturgical calendars, and its creation is described by Saint Bonaventure in his Life of Saint Francis of Assisi c. 1260. Nativity scenes were popularised by Saint Francis of Assisi from 1223, quickly spreading across Europe. In Italy, regional crib traditions then spread, such as that of the Bolognese crib, the Genoese crib and the Neapolitan crib.
In southern Italy, living nativity scenes are extremely popular. They may be elaborate affairs, featuring not only the classic nativity scene but also a mock rural 19th-century village, complete with artisans in traditional costumes working at their trades. These attract many visitors and have been televised on RAI, the national public broadcasting company of Italy. In 2010, the old city of Matera, Basilicata, hosted the world's largest living nativity scene of the time, which was performed in the historic center, Sassi.