Sophia is excited every year when December comes along because it is her favorite month of the year. Red, White and Green are the traditional colors of Christmas and they are the colors on Italy’s flag as well! This is just one reason why some believe that Christmas started in Italy. In Italy, December 25th isn’t the only special day. Sophia’s December holidays start on the 6th and continue for a whole month!

Sophia’s family sets up their decorations at the beginning of December. Sophia’s favorite decoration for the holidays is the ceppo, a Christmas pyramid with a wooden frame and shelves. Sophia’s family always has beautiful displays of fruits and candy on the top shelves and on the bottom shelf there is a nativity scene, or pesepi. Every year, Sophia gets to help place all the figures. Italy is famous for its pesepi, and in some cities there are living presepi, where actors and animals recreate the nativity scene!

On December 6th, Sophia and her family will celebrate La Festa di San Nicola – a festival honoring St. Nicholas. He is the patron saint of shepherds. The zampognari, or shepherds who play bagpipes come down from the mountains and play in the city squares. Bagpipes are a common Christmas sound in Italy.

Christmas Eve in Italy is celebrated in Sophia’s family with a feast of fish and other seafood, bread, pasta and salad. Sophia helps her mom make her famous peach pie too (that smells just like Sophia’s Bath Bubbles)! The Christmas Day meals are just as good, if not better! Sophia hopes they have lasagna this year, along with all the salami, olives, roast and deep fried vegetables. At night, Sophia and her family go to Midnight Mass. Beforehand the cities are deserted and only the sounds of bells ring in the air. Sophia loves the music and candlelight of the Mass ceremony.

Finally, Sophia’s holiday celebrations end on January 6th, La Festa dell’Epifania – The Epiphany, marking the end of the holiday season. Sophia has to wait until this day to open her presents (12 days longer than in the United States)! La Befana, a kindly old witch, delivers the presents to children across Italy. If the child is bad, La Befana leaves pieces of coal, or now, carbone dolce (rock candy that looks like coal). Instead of cookies and milk, left by children in the United States, Italian children leave messages and refreshments for La Befana.

Sophia wishes everyone a Buon Natale (Merry Christmas) and a happy holiday season!