Explore the Christmas in Italian Tradition

Christmas in Italian is not a celebration; it’s a time when the gospel comes to life. Sacred Catholic tradition, sacred feasts, and sacred events are celebrated throughout the country. 

Once you step inside the wonderland, you witness the ancient streets that are filled with Christmas energy and nativity scenes that bring you spiritual awareness. Every sense inside you would undergo a spiritual awakening when you visit this divine place. 

If you’re ready to get transported to a time that is filled with Italian Catholic tradition, festivity, and love, we believe this is your spot. Once you have read our Christmas in Italy guide, we are sure you will make this a soulful experience that remains deep rooted even when Christmas is over. 

1. Christmas Feast in Italy 

If you are planning to celebrate Christmas in Italy for your holidays, then missing the Christmas Eve feast is like detaching from God.  The sin cannot be compensated for. Christmas festivities in Italy are known as La Vigilia, which is an Italian Catholic tradition. In this tradition, people of Italy fast during the day, and at night they gather for dinner, usually including seafood and other dishes for spiritual completeness and awareness.  Each dish comes with its significance. 

So when you are having a bite, it’s not just food, it’s sacred traditions passed on for generations. Missing it would mean missing out on warm laughter, a candlelight dinner, and food that represents the soul of Italian Christmas. 

Once you’ve had the Christmas feast in Italy, it will be imprinted on your mind. Tell us when you witness towns squares glowing with light, people having wine in Tuscany, and caroline energy all around the place, it’s a moment that is unforgettable. For tourists and locals, this experience is nothing short of a lifetime experience 

2. Christmas Day in Italy 

Once you have experienced the prelude of Christmas Day (La vigila), it’s time you experience the actual Christmas in Italy. Christmas Day is known as ll Giorno di Natale. 

This is not just a public holiday, but a sacred day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The day starts when locals dress their best and attend church, and it’s known as Messa di Natale. 

This is done to honour the sacrifice of Jesus Christ made for humanity. The religious tone is set for cathedrals, be it big or small, and Christmas tradition is found in every corner. This day in Italy reminds you of hope, connection, and what it means to be closer to god 

Christmas in Italy is a day that cannot be missed because this is the day when business stops everywhere and faith moves. A day where everyone steps back from making money, closes their business, and moves towards tradition. A tradition celebrating faith, family, and food. 

At lunch, you would find generations coming together and create a multicourse meal. For tourists, it’s a time to experience mouth-watering dishes like torrone, pandoro, and panettone.  Missing this day is saying your heart skips a beat. The local makes strangers their family and greet them with a warm welcome and festive spirit. So, whether you are sipping wine by fire, enjoying your food, or listening to the carol energy that fills the ancient street, we believe this is not just a holiday experience but a timeless moment. 

3. Zampognari in Italy

This is a tradition that tourists call a showstopper event in Christmas in Italy. People from the mountains, mostly from Molise, Abruzzo, and Calabria, gather together and come down to the mainland to celebrate the birth of Jesus chirts. They are dressed in their traditional attire and play holiday music through their bagpipe. The music also has deep meaning. 

Since the people from the mountain regions are mostly shepherds. It symbolises the coming of the shepherds when the birth of Jesus took place. Their presence is not staged, but it’s done for the genuine love for Jesus Christ. When you hear the music, it makes you teleport to a time when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The music is so soothing and makes your soul and heart come alive with the season. 

4. Nativity Scenes in Italy

The nativity scenes in Christmas in Italy are known as il presepe. This is decoration that brings storytelling to life. While the world celebrates the light of the Christmas tree and its decorations, Italy celebrates nativity scenes, which remain iconic to this day. The nativity sconces were first started by st Francis of Assi. 

This was done so that people could get connected to the spirit to jey christ. In addition, the nativity scenes don’t only feature Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, they feature the entire environment that happened during the birth of Jesus, namely the animals, shepherds, and their wise men who visited during his birth. The baby Jesus is carefully placed after the midnight mass,a nd when you look at them, they are not only masterpieces, they are figures that make the gospel come to life. 

Each region of Rome would feature its style of nativity scenes. For instance, in Rome, Assisi, and Florence, you would see live actors performing the gospel, while in smaller towns like Prespi, you would see the nativity set featuring running water and flickering lights. Some towns make a nativity set through mu,d and some through clay. When you look at them, you would see centuries of devotion and craftsmanship 

5. Red underwear 

You have just witnessed from the previous section how Italy celebrates Christmas through tradition, the red underwear celebration initially means hope, prosperity, and good luck. 

Wearing red underwear on December 31st means that you are weleocmng love, prosperity, and luck. In Roman times, red was worn by soldiers to win battles and bring in prosperity and luck. 

Red was the standard dress attire for all soldiers, and Italy has accepted this tradition from there. Now, in December, it has become an unofficial rule that if you want to welcome fortune to your home, you need to wear new red underwear that should be given as a gift. 

If you walk to any shops in Italy, you will see a full-scale display of red clothing, boxers, briefs, and humorous underwear for children. For women, their lacy red sets are made available too. This is one of its most playful traditions, and missing it would mean missing the Italian celebration of life. So go ahead and wear the under with pride and soak in the beauty of the Italian Christmas. 

6. Le Befana

Just when you decide to see that Christmas is ending in Italy, there is a local event that takes place during January 5th and 6th and marks the closing of Christmas in Italy. This is a tradition that is celebrated with faith, folklore, and fun. As we did deep research about this tradition, we found something very interesting. 

The Befana is a woman who was invited to visit baby Jesus when the three wise men were on route to Bethlehem. She rejected the offer and later regretted her decision. Due to this, she travels round the skies searching for baby Jesus to deliver gifts. 
This is done on the eve of Epiphany ( the evening when the three wise men visited baby Jesus). The locals of Italy hang stockings around their houses so that le beffana can fill them with chocolate, but if they have been naughty, they are filled with only sugar. This is a tradition that mixes tradition and fantasy and brings the mythical story to life.