Christmas in Italy

One of my most memorable grade school assignments was a holiday project that required us to write about Christmas in another country.  I chose Holland and did a stellar report on the traditions and customs of the Dutch.  Ironically, my partner for this project was none other than the person who taught me all I knew about Italian Christmases- Seven fishes dinner on Christmas Eve, Panettone- all that good stuff.  I didn't think this information would come in handy because I never really thought I would be away from my beloved Q on Dec. 25th.  We made a smart decision to stay put this year given the mess that was European airports this past week.  Here are a few things I learned about Christmas in Italy...

Merry Christmas from (just outside) Venice.

1. Christmas is a very religious holiday.  Seems like this should be a given, but compared to the good old USA, Christmas here in the church had a more religious feel to it.  Sure, I bet they had their CAPE Catholics (those who only set foot in a church on Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter) in attendance, but the whole week before took on a very Easter-like atmosphere.  Eucharistic adoration took place all week and on Christmas Eve, the church had all day confession.  In Italy, Catholics are not suppose to receive communion unless they have been to confession.  Not sure how they "check" this, but it works out great for me since I can't go to communion and have lots of company in the pews.  (It also makes me look like a big sinner...)  We attended Mass on Christmas Eve at 11pm at the nearby Italian church.  We stood out like sore thumbs for a number of reasons, chief among them being that we were not wearing any fur.  There was so much fur at Mass....boots with the fur, coats with the fur, children with the fur, men in fur....fur everywhere.  Although we had no idea what was going on most of the time, the choir sang some lovely versions of "The First Noel" and "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" (thank goodness I learned that in Latin).  The homily was something about Pakistan and Iraq...those were the only words we recognized.

One of the many manger scenes in our town.

Are the wise men Italian now?  Who is this?

Another interesting thing about Italians at Mass is that we have noticed they don't particularly dress for it.  Sure, some folks were in nice outfits, but many were in jeans.  We've also noticed this is very common at funerals. (Living next to a church, these are the things you notice). If an Italian can explain this to me, I'd love to learn about it...

2. Light displays are smaller.  This makes sense since everything in Europe is smaller.  Italians seem to limit their outside lights to one tree, one balcony or one door.  Nothing is too ostentatious.  The town we live in decorated the light poles with some cute lights and I would have a picture if it were not pouring rain every night this week.  The shooting star is very popular here and many churches and businesses display a star with a tail. One light display, however, looked like it was designed by Clark Griswold.  Downtown Vicenza was a light explosion as you can see here.



This isn't tacky or anything...



Piazza Signori, Downtown Vicenza

3. Still not sure if Christmas Trees are only an American thing.  They sell trees here (fake and real), but I'm not sure if Italians put them in their homes and children expect gifts under them.  I've heard Jan. 6 is the gift day and that there is a witch (La Befana) who delivers the gifts.  My German co-worker did confirm that stockings are a very American tradition.  I actually tried to find a real Christmas tree and had all intentions of getting one.  I went to a store that advertised them and had high hopes that it would be set up in our living room that night.  Unfortunately, the store I went to didn't resemble the one-stop Christmas tree shop that is the parking lot on the Southern Artery.  I found the trees here...but that's just what they were.  The tree literally looked like it had just been pulled out of the ground, roots and all.  Apparently, you buy a bucket and have to almost plant the tree in your house.  I panicked and realized that I wouldn't know what to do with this tree. It likely would not have fit in my car, it would have been a mess and what would I do with it after Christmas?  I really didn't want to get kicked out of Italy for failing to dispose of a Christmas tree properly.  Instead, we took the easy route and got a (gasp) fake tree.  I know...I know...

"We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols..."-Clark W. Griswold

4. Buon Natale is not used as frequently as Merry Christmas is at home.  Merry Christmas translates to Buon Natale in Italian, but it doesn't seem to appear on greeting cards, in light displays or on any holiday signage.  I think it's used more in the religious scene because it translates to Happy Birth of Christ.  More commonly are the phrases Buone Feste and Auguri (wishes).

The Christmas Market in town...notice the little bit of snow we got!!!

5.  American Christmas culture is alive and well here.  Unfortunately, Italians seem to adopt some of our most unsightly and harmful inventions...Crocs, McDonalds, and even inflatable holiday lawn decorations.  Although they were few and far between, they are sadly here.  On the plus side, I did hear some Mariah Carey on the Italian radio and was grateful that Italians can experience the greatest Christmas song ever.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a gramatically incorrect Winnie the Pooh ornament.

6.  Panettone is everywhere.  It's the Italian version of fruit cake at the holidays and it is everywhere.  Stores sell it in countless varieties and pasticcerias make their own.   I only know what this crazy bread/cake is because of my aforementioned Italian friend.  Her family would give us one every year and my poor American mother would struggle to make sense of what exactly it was.  She'd pop it in the toaster and melt butter on it and even tried to make french toast with it one year.  I received one as a gift this year and although I can't enjoy it, it still looked pretty.

Our Christmas

Christmas here at Hotel Hart was relaxing and enjoyable.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and as it has done for the past month and a half, it rained...poured rain to the point that there were concerns that the rivers were going to overflow and the city would flood again.  Luckily, it did not, but that just gives you an idea of how much rain we have been getting here.  After a delish breakfast, we enjoyed the comforts of our living room and a nice Christmas movie marathon and indulged in several games of my new favorite card game Monopoly Deal (seriously, go buy this...now!).  The day took a turn for the interesting when our American neighbors invited us to their place for dinner.  This was very nice of them, especially since we have really only exchanged pleasantries.  To prepare for spending Christmas with total strangers, I made a lasagna...which is funny because I couldn't eat it and I can't really cook.  Our neighbors (from the San Diego area) were very hospitable and it was so kind of them to invite us to their home.  Our only flop of the evening was the fact that we brought a bottle of wine, only to find out that they don't drink...and that our hostess was pregnant.  Oops. 

The moral of this story is that there's nothing like a Quincy Christmas.