Winding up 2015 in Venice

As 2015 wound down, I spent some time wandering the city taking photos of this year's holiday lights. For the first time in as long as we can remember, Campo San Barnaba and the nearby streets were lit up even over the canal. I love the reflections!

Even the boys on the vegetable barge at Ponte dei Pugni got into the holiday spirit donning their Babbo Natale suits to wear to work. 

As in past years, St. Mark's square is ablaze in lights, adding to the festive atmosphere in Venice during the holiday season. 

The Christmas tree next to the Basilica was gorgeous this year.  I particularly enjoyed the ornaments- all simple plaques displaying  heartfelt holiday sentiments from schools, organizations and shops in the city. 

Holiday lights along  Calle Lunga San Marco

Sadly, the Rialto bridge is dark this year. I suspect  the multi-year restoration project currently underway on the bridge has something to do with why lights weren't strung on the outside of the bridge and along the center strada. Adjacent streets on the San Marco side of the bridge were lit up, though. 

It wouldn't be Natale without numerous sightings of Babbo Natale all around Venice.  This one inside the window caught my eye. I'm wondering if he was looking for a way out?

All over Italy, right before Christmas the traditional presepi, nativity scenes, make their appearance  They are in every church and almost every household. This year, as usual, the presepe at Chiesa di Santa Maria Glorioso dei Frari (the Frari, the Venetian shortcut), is exceptional. My photo above is only one tiny portion of it, it is much too large to get into one photo. Figures are moving, cows and sheep are mooing and baa-ing, there is even a volcano erupting at intervals in the background. It wouldn't be Natale without getting into a few churches to see what they have on display in their presepe. 

And our tree is up in Venice again this year. From our house to yours, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Buon Anno Nuovo! Auguri!

Countdown to Christmas- Italian Style! December 16

                                                                       photo courtesy megzimbeck.com

Can you believe it ? We're  already at Day 16 (seidici)!

Typically in Italy, the Christmas decorations are put up on December 8, which is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The presepe, holiday lights, Babbo Natale's and Christmas trees get set up in homes, shops and town centers. At our house, even though we had every intention of getting the tree up on December 8, it just didn't happen. Today, thankfully, the tree is up. In celebration of that, today on the Countdown I'm blogging about l'Albero di Natale or the Christmas tree.

Every year in Venice, a large tree is set up in St. Mark's square, and lights are turned on the evening of December 8.  Here's a photo of this year's tree.

St. Mark's is a magical place on a normal day. At Christmas time with thousands of twinkly lights lit not only on the tree but under the three colonnades that surround the square, it is particularly breathtaking.

I remember our first Christmas in Venice. We wondered what in the world people did for Christmas trees. We couldn't imagine where we could go to find a real tree, or better yet, carrying that tree back to an apartment in Venice. There certainly was no place to go cut down a tree. We ended up buying a fake tree in a box, then  carted that big box home on a handcart on the vaporetto, up and over a few bridges and into the apartment. That was the first fake tree I'd ever had in my life. I wasn't happy, but it was the most expedient solution.

You CAN get a real tree in Venice!  They aren't large, but they are real. Many come with the roots in pots even.  Just before December 8, you'll see a vendor set up shop near Ca D'Oro on the Strada Nuova in Cannaregio.  There's another vendor near the mercatino on the Lido, which is in the photo below.

You can see how small most of these trees are. On the bright side- they are real trees!

I even saw trees in the grocery store, for 11.99 Euros each, and have seen people putting these into the grocery trolley and wheeling them home.  It almost makes me want to buy one. Almost.  Then I start thinking about all that hauling and change my mind. I also think about what I'd have to do when it was time to take the tree down and get it out of the apartment. I'm sticking with the large, fake tree. (see below!)

Buon Natale !

Countdown to Christmas- Italian Style ! December 15

photo courtesy www.theinstructables.com


Welcome back for Countdown to Christmas Day 15 (quindici) !

Behind door number 15 is something familiar to all families in Italy, no matter which part of the country they are from.  The presepe, or Nativity scene, is a very important part of the Christmas traditions. Families set their presepe up beginning on December 8.  Most are very elaborate, including moving parts, multiple buildings, people, animals and all sorts of interesting accessories, some even including a sun and moon that rise and set mechanically.

The presepe was introduced by Francis of Assisi, who used a living Nativity scene in a cave in the 13th century. The tradition spread throughout Italy, but has been made most famous by the city of Naples wh.ich has hundreds of presepe displayed during the holidays

This Nativity scene, located in a small church in Savona, Italy, includes not only the three wisemen, but also fishermen and their boats. Savona is a seaport, it only makes sense that a presepe here would include something important to the local people.

This photo shows the fishermen bringing their gifts to the Christ child in the manger also. 

Buon Natale!

Countdown to Christmas - Italian Style! December 12

                                 photo courtesy www.thedishmadison.com


We've made it to Day 12 (dodici)!!!!  We're half way to Christmas already!

I must admit, I'm jumping the gun a tiny little bit with my choice for today. I intended to wait until closer to New Year's Eve with this one, seeing as it is a New Year's Eve Italian tradition- but...
as soon as I saw a vendor at the mercatino the other day with an enormous bin of red underwear for sale, I could not resist.

All over Italy, everyone wears red underwear (mutande) on New Year's Eve (notte di San Silvestro or vigilia di capodanno) for good luck.  There is no rule that it has to be new red underwear, but just in case you needed some, shops start advertising and selling red underwear early in December. Thus, the bin of red mutande!  Everyone, and I mean everyone, believes in the red underwear tradition. Babies, toddlers, moms, dads, even the 95 year olds will all be sporting red underwear.  You can't take any chances when good luck is involved, so you might just as well give it all you've got.

I had to rummage around in this bin for a while. I just could not help myself. Every size and shape underwear you can imagine was in that bin. Everything from itty-bitty thongs to big granny pants. And people were buying.

It wasn't just this industrious vendor over at the local mercatino getting ready for New Year's Eve, either. I passed several high end shops in the San Marco district displaying beautiful red lingerie in their windows.

There doesn't seem to be any requirement that you be Italian to do the wearing of the red underwear for good luck. So, I'm sharing the tradition with all of you. Why not tuck a little bit of red into  the Christmas stockings of all your family members this year?  Who is with me on this? 

Buon Natale!

Countdown to Christmas - Italian style! December 7

photo courtesy www.instructables.com


I can't believe it's Day 7 (sette) already!  Ok, here we go, let's see what we've got behind door number 7.   It's the Stelle di Natale !  Translated into English that is literally the Star of Christmas, or also called the Christmas Star, or Pointsettia.

                               

We purchased ours yesterday on Via Garibaldi from a local group Associazione Italiana Contro Le Leucemie-Linfomi e Mieloma Onlus which raises money to support patients suffering from leukemia, lymphomas and other similar diseases. They sell Stelle di Natale every year in several locations around the city. 

                     

I love Pointsettia.  I always have a few of them at Christmas time, but have never been able to keep them alive through the rest of the year. I've tried, believe me. I can never get them to re-bloom again. So, I just buy new ones every December. Anybody have any luck keeping them growing after the holidays?  I'd love some tips!

Now that I have my Stelle di Natale, the house is beginning to get some holiday spirit.

Buon Natale!

Countdown to Christmas (Natale)- Italian Style! - December 3

                              
                                                      photo courtesy www.tipjunkie.com


The weather here in Venice today was brutal! Fierce wind and pounding rain almost non-stop. All day I kept thinking how much I would have liked a nice roaring fire to snuggle up in front of, some Christmas carols playing, and the smell of freshly baked Christmas cookies filling the house.

As I searched for the photo of the advent calendar I wanted to use for today's post, the one I chose seemed to fit my mood perfectly. I love it. If I had a fireplace, I might be very tempted to create this one for myself!  I had lots of possible choices for what would be behind my little door for today on my Advent Calendar. I decided on this, with a great deal of influence from one of my favorite Christmas carols.  You know the one.... "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Yule tide carols being sung by a choir, and folks dressed up like eskimos..."



My pick for Door Number  3  (tre) is Roasted Chestnuts.  You find these during the holiday season all over Italy. In Rome, you'll find the vendors in Piazza Navona, and across the street from the Spanish Steps. In Venice, they are only in one location, along the Strada Nova in the Cannaregio district, between the Cannaregio canal and the San Marcuolo area.

The word for chestnuts in Italian is castagna, however this usually refers to the fresh chestnuts sold by  vegetable vendors in the fall.  Caldarroste or arrostita are the words more frequently used for roasted chestnuts, which are sold by caldarrostaio , the vendors who roast the chestnuts on the street.
On a really chilly day, I love standing in front of the chestnut cart just to warm up a bit while I'm waiting for the vendor to put my chestnuts in a paper cone or sack.  The smells are enticing, the taste heavenly.  It's just not Christmas in Italy without roasted chestnuts!   I highly recommend you give them a try, if you haven't already

Buon Natale!