Every year on 8 March, most Italians celebrate La Festa della Donna. Men, and sometimes also women, give the women in their lives mimosa flowers. It is a widespread custom to not only give flowers to relatives and friends, but also to colleagues for instance.

You can even send virtual mimosa, so why not send some this year to female friends in Italy?

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Carnevale in Italy is a big festivity celebrated with masquerade parties, parades on the squares, entertainment and music.

Childrens are always up to mischief during Carnival; in Italy we said “A Carnevale ogni scherzo vale” (anything goes at Carnival).

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Christmastime is here.  We all have our own traditions and around the globe Christmas is celebrated in uncountable ways.

I decorate the tree, prepare the “presepe” and go out to watch a Christmas movie.

However, we sometimes forget that Christmas is celebrated also in the other countries in their own adorable and, especially, strange way.

Austria

In most places when children are bad they get coal, but not in the Alpine countries. Here St. Nick is accompanied by two demonic figures: Krampus and Perchta. On December 6th men dress up in some of the scariest devil-like costumes you can imagine and drunkenly run around towns.

The Krampus legend originates in the Germanic alpine regions and it’s popular especially in Austria, Hungary, Bavaria and Slovenia.

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The last month of the year has arrived, so we are all preparing for the festive season… The radio is bombarding us with Christmas songs, we need to go out and buy a tree and of course we’ll be shopping around for pressies!

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I have loved this holiday since I was a small child. I love the decorations, costumes, trick-or-treating, parties and all the joys of this wonderful, autumn holiday.

Halloween is becoming a popular day for costume parties and events in Italy. While the main holidays are still All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2, the custom of celebrating Halloween is starting to take hold in many Italian cities.
Halloween costumes and startling displays of spiders can be found in many stores. Children’s costume parties are held during the day while in the evening many nightclubs, bars, and restaurants organize special Halloween costume parties.
‘Trick or treat’ became the favorite phrase of small children: they have adopted the American tradition of going door to door in costume to request for chocolates and candies. Read more »

In Italy, Easter Day -like Christmas Day- is usually spent with family, relatives and friends, even though there are many people who take advantage of this holiday to go for a weekend break. However, whether people are at home or away, they like spending the best part of Easter Day sitting around a table, drinking good Italian wine and eating traditional Italian dishes.

At my house we generally start Easter Lunch with an antipasto of crostini, raw ham and salami, pickled vegetables and boiled blessed eggs. Then we will eat tortellini in chicken stock and after that, the lamb. It’s not Easter if you don’t eat lamb! It can be roasted (accompanied by roast potatoes or fresh green salad) or pan fried (my grandma usually cooks lamb chops that way and serves them with spinach). To finish, there is a typical Italian Easter cake called the ”Colomba ”, which name comes from the white dove, symbol of peace and harmony. Traditional Colomba is similar to our Christmas “Panettone”, decorated with raisins and candied fruit, but there are countless variants of this Easter cake, made with cream and chocolate or entirely covered with almonds.

Children look forward to Easter day just to receive their Easter egg: a big egg made of milk chocolate with a special surprise inside for them (my favourite was the Kinder one).

When I was a toddler I opened my eggs to discover their surprises, then immediately went into my room to play with my new toys and leave the chocolate eggs on the table, untouched. So needless to say my parents and especially my sister took advantage of the situation to devour the eggs within a very few seconds!!!!

Here in Florence, Easter is celebrated with the Scoppio del Carro, explosion of the cart. A huge, decorated wagon is dragged through Florence by white oxen until it reaches Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in the historic centre. Following mass, the Archbishop sends a dove-shaped rocket into the cart, igniting the fireworks held in the cart. This spectacular display is followed by a parade in medieval costumes.

“Pasquetta” is the day after Easter. Traditionally I spend this day with my family, going out for a picnic or for a day trip. Usually we leave early in the morning, preparing sandwiches at home. Where we go? Personally, I prefer the beach, at San Vincenzo or Viareggio, otherwise a peaceful place where we can spend a day in total relaxation, breathing fresh air, playing football or volleyball with friends, like the big lawn in Vallombrosa.

The key words for the Italian Easter holidays are definitely Peace and Relaxation.

by Giulia