From spaghetti to singing carols, remembering Abruzzi holiday traditions
Justina, age 7 (left), in Abruzzi, Italy and Justina, today (right), in Sedona, Arizona.
By Justina Wolf, friend of Grand Circle traveler, Cynthia Nasta, from Sedona, Arizona
Contrary to the way Christmas has been commercialized today, I remember it as a very peaceful, religious, and great time to get together with family and friends as a child in my hometown—Lettomanoppello in Abruzzi, Italy in 1932.
We did not have a Santa Claus. Instead, we had an old lady called La Befana, who (according to legends) flew through the sky on her broom and visited the homes of children. She came down the chimney and put chocolates in the stockings of those who had been good and coal in the stockings of those that had been naughty.
We did not exchange gifts until January 6—the Epiphany (celebrating the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus). We received one gift each, like a gold necklace or earrings for the girls and scarves or socks for the boys.
After dinner, Justina and her family celebrated Christmas by attending Mass.
Christmas Eve was a wonderful ritual of preparing and eating a sumptuous supper of different types of fish like fried or baked baccalá (cod), spaghetti with anchovies, fried smelts, and roasted eels. For vegetables, we had broccoli di rape, stuffed eggplant, and stuffed artichokes. We ended the meal with espresso and roasted chestnuts.
After supper, we sat by the fireplace and sang Christmas carols. My Aunt Aurelia (who had a beautiful singing voice) sang and played her mandolin. Around 11:30 p.m., we’d put on our coats and walk to church with lighted candles.
Justina and her family sat by the fire, roasting chestnuts, and remembering happy memories on Christmas evening.
What a beautiful sight! At the stroke of midnight, an aluminum star slid down a cable and rested above the manger. We sang beautiful Christmas songs during Mass. After Mass, we walked to the nearby piazza to mingle with friends and relatives and wish them a “Buon Natale” (Merry Christmas). Then we would buy roasted chestnuts from a vendor and walk home.
On Christmas Day, we went to church again and when we returned home, it was time to prepare Christmas dinner. Our meal consisted of homemade pasta with braciole sauce, roasted capon and potatoes, and string bean salad … ending with espresso, panettone, pomegranates, and walnuts. In the evening, we sat around the fireplace, roasting chestnuts and recalling happy times.
These are my beautiful memories I shall always treasure. Buon Natale a tutti! (Merry Christmas, everyone!)
Learn about the many ways Italians celebrate the holiday season when you join us on one of our Italy vacations.