The festivals, foods, and spectacular customs of the holiday season last a glorious three weeks in Italy. Join food historian and author Francine Segan for a lively presentation on the many splendors of Christmas and New Year as celebrated in grand Italian style—and celebrate 2013’s designation as the Year of Italy.
Learn the story behind La Befana, the kindly witch who fills children’s stockings with treats on January 6 and about the many traditions of the holiday period, such as Rome’s firing of a canon from Castel Sant’ Angelo on Christmas Eve. Take a behind-the-scenes peek at the work of Neapolitan artisans who for centuries have hand-crafted wooden crèches, and learn about the many living-Nativity scenes like the famed ones in Grottamare, le Marche.
Discover the stories behind the country’s traditional holiday meals, wines, and special desserts including pandoro, a tall cake that resembles a Christmas tree. Explore the special ways Italians toast on New Year’s Eve and how they quite literally ring in the New Year by tossing old pots and pans out of windows at midnight.
You’ll also get a taste of Italian traditions as you sample some distinctive holiday treats.
Business attire
Felicetti, Italy’s famous pasta company, provides the pasta; wines are courtesy of Velenosi, Domodimonti and Ciu Ciu wineries; desserts including Baci, chocolates, and holiday cakes, are provided by Perugina, Italy’s beloved sweets maker; gourmet Sicilian cookies are donated by the baking company Falanga.
Other Connections
Learn more about the art and the history of the presepio, the ornate Neapolitan crèche.
Chocolate and mascarpone are star ingredients in Italian desserts. Combine them in these Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies from Perugina and you might create a new holiday tradition of your own.
To listen to samples of Italian folk music and dance, click here>>
