La befana

In Italy, Christmas officially kicks off with the Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary on December 8. This is when decorations go up (both on the streets and inside Italian homes) and when some Christmas markets start. Decorations and huge Christmas trees can be found in main piazzas.

There is a festive atmosphere during the whole of December. Christmas markets with various stalls with typical food, Christmas sweets, and gifts can be visited in many towns especially in Italy's northern Alto-Adige Region. Along with the fancy lights, wreaths and trees, presepi (nativity scenes) are displayed in many churches and piazzas.

To prepare and purify their bodies for Christmas Day, Italians avoid meat on la Vigilia (Christmas Eve). Although the idea is to eat lean, most indulge on multiple courses of fish, sometimes as many as seven! After the family dinner, many Italians head to midnight Mass at their local church to celebrate.

After the “light” Christmas Eve dinner, on Christmas Day, Italians invite their family and friends for a large lunch that usually goes on all day. Many save up to have the most lavish celebration possible, serving up traditional dishes like pasta in brodo (pasta in broth), roasts and traditional desserts like panettone.  You might be thinking that kids receive their presents during this day, but the truth is that they have to wait until the 6th of January to unwrap their presents.

Celebrations often extend into December 26 with the national holiday of Santo Stefano; families get together and eat leftover Christmas dishes and sweets.

The official end of the Christmas season, though, isn’t until January 6. On that day, families usually prepare a large lunch to mark the end of the holiday season. This day is the most exciting day for Italian children. La befana—a kind of “good witch” who is believed to have followed the wise men, but got lost—drops off presents. Traditions regarding la Befana might change from city to city: la befana is a particular tradition in Rome and Bologna, where the main piazzas often host fun activities for children while in Venice, locals believe that la befana arrives every year by boat! Besides the presents, a popular tradition is to give children candies or coal (usually made of black sugar), depending on if they were naughty or nice.