How do you celebrate the new year in Italy?

To get acquainted with the culture of any country is best during folk festivals, because it is at these moments you can see and experience all its multifaceted manifestations.

All of us have repeatedly heard about the mysterious Italian temperament. Expression, craving for all sorts of entertainment, emotionality, a lot of noise … And how does this cheerful people meet one of the most long-awaited holidays on the planet – New Year’s Eve?

In Italy, the holiday is called Capodanno, which literally translates to “head of the year”. As in most countries, it comes on the night from December 31 to January 1. Since Italy is a Catholic country, more attention is paid to Christmas, but no one forgets about New Year’s Eve. Christmas for Italians is a quiet family feast, but New Year’s Eve is a friendly party in the streets of the city, where everyone has the opportunity to release all their energy.

In Italy, the New Year celebrations are divided into two parts – before and, respectively, after. The Capodanno begins with the traditional St. Sylvester’s dinner. It is customary to sit down at the table 3 hours before the chimes. Of course, as in any country, Italy has its traditional New Year’s dishes. Hostesses serve on the table from seven to thirteen different treats. An important condition of all ingredients on the holiday table – they must be round, which symbolizes coins. Therefore, lentils, nuts, pies, caviar and grapes are traditionally served on the Italian New Year’s table. Local hostesses pay special attention to pork. In Italy, the pig is a special animal, which is associated with incredible persistence and calculation. Therefore, it is customary to prepare exquisite dishes from the head and legs. Also traditionally on the table will be very spicy pork sausage, without tasting which, you can very offend the host. Never on the New Year’s table in Italy you will not find chicken, because the locals consider this bird very stupid and sluggish.

Of course, an Italian feast is not without good wine. It is not customary to drink champagne or French wines on New Year’s Eve, as it is simply unacceptable and very offensive to Italians. Although in many provinces it is customary to drink beer rather than wine.
Every nation has its own special traditions that have been built up over centuries. Italians are no exception! They have both national traditions and those that are specific to certain regions. Some Italian customs have been liked by many other countries, so some of them can be called global.

For example, the most famous and widespread tradition in Italy is throwing old and unnecessary things out of windows. In recent decades, many residents of other European countries have followed this example. They believe that this way they clean their home and their lives from problems and various misfortunes, make room for happiness and fun. Therefore, on New Year’s Eve you need to be very vigilant and careful when walking around the numerous streets. After all, dishes, cushions, chairs and even sofas with closets can fall boldly in front of you. For the safety of strolling, as a rule, Italian authorities block traffic, turning cities into pedestrian zones. In addition to unnecessary things, Italians throw away money, thus thanking the past year for the prosperity it brought to their home. It is obligatory to light a candle with a red ribbon on the window before throwing the coins away.

Equally popular is the “12 grapes” ritual. This is probably one of the oldest Italian traditions. According to the belief, with each stroke one must put one grape in the mouth, i.e. one for each month. If a person has all 12 pieces in his mouth, it is believed that the whole next year luck will not leave him for a minute. After the Head of the Year, the lights go out in Italian houses and everyone starts kissing.

As midnight falls, all the festivities move to the streets. Live Christmas trees are set up in squares, and cities are transformed into fairy-tale worlds, where everything is decorated with millions of small lights, elegant bunches of flowers and lots of red ribbons. Italians believe that this color brings good luck, so they simply can not afford to appear on the holiday without any red clothes or accessories. After midnight all the streets of Italy become filled with people. There is an atmosphere of incredible fun, love and kindness. Until the very morning in all cities you can hear songs, explosions of clappers and numerous fireworks. Italians make a lot of noise on purpose, because, according to local traditions, this is what helps to drive away evil spirits.

But Italians go out not only for fun, but also to check many other omens that are connected with New Year’s Eve. After all, as it turns out, they are very superstitious. So, this people believe that to meet a hunchbacked old man on the street is crazy luck, but a very young child is a big disappointment. Also the Italians have an omen about clean water. Clean water is considered the best gift, as you bring positivity into the house and leave a piece of yourself with it, thus protecting the house from evil spirits.

Like all of us, Italians believe that the next year will be just like its first day. That’s why they will never take or lend money (other valuable things) after the chimes strike. And of course, on January 1, Italians will never do anything. And the New Year’s feast will continue after dinner with baked turkey and celebrate the World Day of Peace.

But perhaps the main difference between our holiday and the Italian one is the lack of presents. The local Santa Claus (Babbo Natale) does not leave presents for the children. Babbo Natale appeared in Italy only at the beginning of the 20th century. He is no different from the usual Santa Claus. Fairy Befana is considered the traditional “Santa Claus” in the country. Children receive their presents from her on January 6, which, according to American tradition, are put in a boot.

So to celebrate the New Year in Italy is not only a lot of incredible adventures, acquaintances and emotions, it is also a great opportunity to plunge into the unforgettable atmosphere of hot Italy.