Merry Christmas

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and are continuing to enjoy the winter break. While this was my first Christmas away from my family at home, I had a really fun time in Italy with my Italian family.   I found it really interesting to experience Christmas in a different culture. Christmas in Italy seems to be a bit less commercial and isn’t hyped as much as in the US. For example, people don’t decorate the outside of their homes like they do in the US, and you don’t hear the constant stream of Christmas songs over the radio. I also feel that Christmas in Italy is less focused on gifts and Santa Claus, or as he’s called in Italy “Babbo Natale.” Instead, Italian traditions are more centered around family and meals.   In Italy, the Christmas Eve meal typically consists of a fish dinner, panettone (a type of fruitcake) and in many cases a trip to church. And then on Christmas day there is usually a very large lunch with family. For lunch we had cappelletti (tortellini in broth), a large roast, and a light fluffy cake called Pandoro. After the meal, we had over 15 relatives join us at the house for coffee.

Pandoro

panettone

cappelletti

In terms of gifts, we actually opened all of our gifts on Christmas Eve which some families do in America (we open gifts on Christmas morning). The highlight of the night had to be Simone’s reaction when he opened his official Juventus jersey customized with his name and favorite number! He was so excited! I also enjoyed exchanging gifts with my Italian family, and even had a few gifts from my extended American family that made it in time for Christmas (thank you!).

All in all, it’s been a very relaxing and enjoyable break so far.  I’m in Chamonix right now and will be returning after the New Year.