Liceo Linguistico Socio Pedagogico Regina Margherita
Anagni, Lazio [ITALIA]

Christmas in Lazio: e-mails from Anagni pupils (Ms Affinati's class) to Sélestat students (december 2006)

Christmas in Anagni.

As from tradition eight December all the family is striven in order to adorn the own house with decorations several (lights, mistletoe, candles etc) and between all the decorations there is the ritual of the preparation of the Christmas tree and the crèche. As far as the tree it is custom to go to take it the forest and to decorate it with the little ball colored, small lights to intermittence or less, one star comet on the tip and others varies decorations (we do to think to you). The crèche instead it is the reproduction of the scene of the Christmas scene for means of small statues that to they time represents all the personages of the sacred scene, until the day of the birth of Jesus the crib remains empty, single 25 December puts the small statue of the baby. The same thing is worth for the king magi in the day of the Epiphany. Eight December is the day in which s' it begins to feel the true essence of the Christmas. In fact, in this same day it comes adorned also the city with threads electrical workers, red carpets in front of the store's; all the store's adorn the own display windows. The twenty-fourth December that is the eve of Christmas is tradition to gather with the relatives for the supper. In this date the tradition forbids to eat meat in fact the supper is made up of fish. After supper we play to papers and bingo; all with to midnight we go in church in order to celebrate the recurrence of the birth of Jesus. The morning of 25 December the children raise themselves of good hour and go to watch under the tree, in order to discard the gifts that have asked to Santa Claus by means of one letter. After that all from the own relatives in order to celebrate the Christmas with the traditional lunch. This lunch is made up of pasta made in house (rigorously from the family grandmothers), meat of several types, local candies (we has the "pan prepared papacy" made up of cooked must, mixed with pieces of fusing chocolate, pine nuts, almonds, hazels, honey and grape passes. The entire prepared one will take small cake shape.). This is the way in which we celebrate Christmas.

Roberto, Valerio, Marta, Adalberta.


Italian christmas traditions.

The panettone.

Who don't know the typical sweet of Milano that in Christmas time prevails on every table? The ingredients are: flour, butter, eggs and raisins. There are a lot of legend that want to explain the panettone's origin but the most famous is this. Once upon at time lived a baker, Tony. The night before Christmas he worked a lot, he was tired but his working day wasn't finish. He kneaded the last block of past of bread and meantime he prepared on the extremities of the long plank, eggs, sugar and raisins for the cake of his master.But for a wrog movement he overturned the sugar. In the meantime he crushed the eggs and he found the past of bread with sugar,eggs and raisins.He kneded the all whit desperation.But when the big  loafs went out from the bakery,the "pan de toni" gave to him a lot of affaires. And the "pan de toni" was called "panettone".


The log.

The log protect the houses from any danger. It's one of the pagan customs in the Europe. The people ignited great fires. The pays tradition is maintained lives ina lot of  Italian regions. In umbria,like in emilia,marche and abbruzzo it's burned a big log of ulivo,until first of January, when the ashes come scattered on the grounds and in the vines,like augury of good harvest. In calabria and in Puglia the people coverd the log from encircled ivy and from twelve small woods,like symbol of twelve apostles. In sardegna the people  fasted in front of the fireplace until the middle of the night. While in Toscana the door of the houses are open to every host for all the time in wich the log burn in the fireplace.


The presepio.

It's itlian tradition. The first presepio was invented by S.francesco from Assisi in the 1223 in a cove of Greccio in the Reatina. He loved God and he wanted remember to the people the birth of Christe in the poverty. For this he organized a true aand just theatre with a true ox and an ass. The  news scattered and a big crowd went to the cove. So from celebration with personages the presepio become a presepio with statues of wood and stone.


The bells.

Every christian holiday is welcomed by the sound of the holiday bells. In fact who gives the men the born announcements of jesus are the angels. The angels are the inventor of the bells. In reality the bells is then introducted in the churches in the ninth century.


The fir-tree.

The tradition to decorate the fir-tree was born in Egypt. The tree is constituited by a small pyramid of wood. From earth of pharaon,so, a traveller took this idea in Europe. Was Martin Luther said some to introduce the fir-tree substitute his at pyramid.


The zampognari.

The zampognari are pastors  who play the zampogna while they supervise the pastorale of their flocks. During the period of Christmas they come to the small town. Their origins are from Lazio,Abbruzzo and Calabria. The clothes of zampognari are accompanied from a group of women and children with other instruments. The repertoire of zampognari includes stories of christams and many hymns. The zampogna take the origin from the "pan'sflute",composed of  ulivo wood,and hide sack like air tank.


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