Italian Christmas

Milan, Christmas 2008

December 30, 2008

^ sparkly crystal display in the dome of Milan’s Galleria After a disastrous trip from Denver, Ross and I made it back to Italy the Saturday before Christmas, rather than the Friday as originally scheduled. Which meant I was still exhausted and jet-lagged when I made a dash into Milan to see friends that Monday. [...]

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Italian Christmas Carols

December 12, 2008

(originally posted Dec 4, 2005) Italians aren’t as thrilled about carol-singing as us Anglo-Saxon types, but a few are so enthusiastic about singing of any kind that they make the effort to gather friends for a seasonal songfest. Like our friend Roberto. Lyrics for “Tu scendi dalle stelle” (with a rather overwrought English translation, and [...]

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A “Typical” Italian Christmas

December 26, 2006

Of course , our family is far from typically Italian. Even my husband’s family isn’t very typical: his mother moved around a great deal while she was growing up, and had only two brothers (who both died young), and Enrico’s father was an only child – hardly the norm in his day! So the close [...]

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The Italian Holiday Season Begins

November 23, 2003

The Christmas season is upon us; here in Lecco, holiday lights are already up over some of the main streets, though they have not yet been lit, and shopkeepers are busy decorating. At least Italian merchants aren’t quite as overeager as some others. In the US, some Christmas displays go up right after Halloween. When [...]

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Winter Holidays: A Good Time to Visit Italy

November 14, 2003

While many people dream of Italy, it seems that most can’t picture it outside the summer season. I’ve seen messages on the Lonely Planet boards asking: “Is it worthwhile to even go to Italy in winter?” Well, yes, it is, especially around the Christmas season. As elsewhere in the Christian world, this is Italy’s biggest [...]

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