7 Italian Christmas Traditions For The Holiday Season

The Christmas season is full of festivities, and nobody knows Noel quite like the Italians. Here, 7 Italian Christmas traditions should give you all the inspiration you need.

GMVOZD

In Italy, the Christmas Eve dinner is called the “feast of the seven fishes” and, as the name suggests, it’s a seven course meal featuring only seafood. 

Feast of the Seven Fishes

1.

HENRYK SADURA

After the feast of the seven fishes, Italian families flock to their local churches to attend midnight mass.

Midnight Mass

2.

FILIPPO MONTEFORTE

The musicians, known as zampognari, typically dress in traditional shepherd clothing as a nod to the shepherds who visited Jesus on the night he was born.

Bagpipe Music

3.

MASSIMO SCARSELLETTA

In Italy, nativity scenes, or presepiare no joke. In fact, they are typically hand-crafted by skilled artisans and look more like works of art.

Nativity Scene

4.

DANIELA WHITE IMAGES

According to lore & per tradition, la befana, or “the good witch,” visits homes on January 6 to fill children’s stockings with goodies.

La Befana

5.

PAUL BIRIS

In Northern Italy, it is tradition for skiers to hit the slopes at midnight on Christmas Day, sometimes carrying torches to light their way as they ring in the holiday.

Midnight Skiing

6.

DONATELLA DE SIO

After finishing off the Christmas Eve feast, families gather around to play Tombola. This raucous lottery-style game involves prizes & plenty of merrymaking.

Tombola

7.

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