The last of the twelve days of Christmas, Epifania (Epiphany) is important to Christians as it celebrates the arrival of i Re Magi (three kings or wise men) to see the baby Jesus. In Italy, an important messa (mass) is celebrated on this day (January 6th), with plenty of canzoni (songs) and wise men costumes [...]
The Italian New Year period is called Capodanno, literally ‘head of the year’. It is celebrated in much the same way as the rest of the world, although there are a number of quaint traditions to follow.
The night of the 31st usually kicks off with the cenone (big feast) where you can load up on [...]
The streets are lit up, the shops are teaming, ‘jingle bells’ is everywhere… we can only conclude that arriva natale (Christmas is coming)!
The Christmas period starts properly with the decoration of the albero di natale (Christmas tree), not forgetting the all important stella (star) or angioletto (little angel) on the top. Under the tree in [...]
Although only recently having become popular, Halloween in Italy today is a big deal. Shops are full of plastic zucche (pumpkins) and scope (broomsticks) for doting parents to give to their children. When night falls, youngsters will travestirsi (dress up) in costumes of streghe (witches), fantasmi (ghosts) and pipistrelli (bats), either to go out asking [...]
