• Home
  • About me/Chi sono
  • Contact

Un po' di pepe

~ …… (oon∙poh∙dee∙PEH∙peh) Cristina writes about interesting stuff /Cristina scrive di cose interessanti

Un po' di pepe

Tag Archives: Christmas in Italia

L’Albero di Natale

09 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Feste, Italian life

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Albero di Natale, Christmas in Italia, Natale, Presepio

L’albero di Natale, my Christmas tree is now up and decorated.  I usually have it all done by now, but I am behind this year.  It was not planned, but I did the Italian thing this year!  December 8th is l’Immacolata Concezione, the festa celebrating the conception of the Vergine Maria.  It is a national holiday in Italia and the official start of le feste Natalizie-the Christmas season.  It is also the day most Italiani put up and decorate their albero di Natale and presepio. The Christmas decorations-addobbi Natalizie stay up until January 6th, la festa del Epifania-after a visit from La Befana. Earlybirds decorate on December 6th the festa di San Nicola.L’albero di Natale is long standing tradition in Northern European countries, but a much newer custom in Italia.  Alberi sempervivi-evergreen trees, have symbolized life, regeneration and immortality.  The Celts, Vikings and pre-Christian Germanic tribes decorated evergreens during Solstice celebrations.  In the harsh northern winters evergreen trees, holly and mistletoe were the only things that stayed green, so they were thought to have magical powers. Wreaths and evergreen branches were hung over doors as a defense against evil spirits and a symbolic defense against the harsh winter.  I can totally relate to this last one.  My addobbi Natalizie help me get through the winter!  ‘Modern’ use of l’albero di Natale started in the 13th Century and became a custom in Northern Europe.  In Southern Europe, it was seen as more of a Protestant custom and did not catch on.  In 1848, when Prince Albert of Germany married Queen Victoria, he brought the Christmas tree custom with him, which spread through the British Empire. Vancouver Club tree 2018Regina Margherita di Savoia-yes she of pizza fame-was the first to decorate un albero di Natale in Italia in the late 1800’s at the Palazzo Quirinale.  The custom spread slowly, but grew in popularity after WWII.  In 1982, Pope Giovanni Paolo II first introduced a tree in Piazza San Pietro. Now most families have un albero di Natale, and the presepio is often placed under the tree.  Is your albero di Natale up yet?  Buon Natale, Cristina

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Enter your email address to follow 'un po' di pepe' and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 422 other followers

Follow Un po' di pepe on WordPress.com

Popular Posts

  • Napoli Street Art
    Napoli Street Art
  • Hairstyling in Ancient Roma
    Hairstyling in Ancient Roma
  • Italiano per Ristoranti~How to pronounce your restaurant menu
    Italiano per Ristoranti~How to pronounce your restaurant menu
  • Uffa, allora, purtroppo, magari, ….mannaggia!
    Uffa, allora, purtroppo, magari, ….mannaggia!
  • Caffè con Caravaggio a Roma
    Caffè con Caravaggio a Roma
  • Visiting Galleria Borghese
    Visiting Galleria Borghese
  • L'ultimo Caravaggio
    L'ultimo Caravaggio

Recent Posts

  • Ravioli Rossi
  • 700 Years of Dante
  • Buon Anno 2021
  • Reflecting on 2020
  • Panforte di Siena
  • Museo Faggiano
  • World Pasta Day
  • MOSE
  • Lecce
  • Writing about Italian Canadian Food Culture
  • Limoncello
  • L’ultimo Caravaggio
  • Ravioli di Ricotta e Spinaci
  • Lucca
  • Viaggio con Isabella
  • Street Art for International Nurses Day
  • Cinquecento Love
  • La Festa della Liberazione
  • Corzetti
  • In my Kitchen~Quarantine edition
  • Quarantine Selfie Collage
  • COVID19-Insieme ce la faremo
  • COVID19-Andrà tutto bene
  • Napoli Street Art
  • The Last Medici

Categories

Amici e Famiglia Architecture Art Art history Art projects Bilingual posts Blogging Canada Culture Feste Firenze Inspiration Italia Italian Folklore Italian language Italian life Italocanadesi Libri Mangiamo! Orsara di Puglia Parole piacevoli Photography Puglia Recipes Roma Travel Travel tips Vino

Un po' di pepe on Instagram

Archives

Un po’ di pepe on Facebook

Un po’ di pepe on Facebook

Start a Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    %d bloggers like this: