While the Italians are eagerly waiting for the end of the week, Thursday or Friday the new decree is expected and it will finally be clear how Christmas is to be celebrated, a tradition is broken by many at the same time. Eight December, the day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and a national holiday throughout Italy, is the day when the Italians put up their Christmas tree, a tradition that is actually never deviated from. That’s why I didn’t fail to notice that I already spotted many Christmas trees in the living rooms last week. The reason? The coronavirus, of course, which has apparently been able to overturn even the most entrenched rituals.
Although I would love it to already have such a beautifully decorated tree in the living room, Alessandro – my roommate – is inexorable
But not at our place. Although I would love it to already have such a beautifully decorated tree in the living room, Alessandro – my roommate – is inexorable. He believes it will bring bad luck upon us if we put it up early, so he patiently waits until comes to the eighth. However, that did not stop me from enthusiastically bringing in some first Christmas decorations last week. A short visit to ‘the Chinese’ (in Italy that’s what we call the typical household shops where they literally sell everything, mostly run by Chinese people) left me with a green pine garland and fairy lights immediately turning the kitchen into the romantic decor of a Christmas commercial.
Last week I received a giant bossolà from northern Italy: a Christmas cake and a very local specialty from Brescia
Literally, I mean. Last week I received a giant bossolà from northern Italy: a Christmas cake and a very local specialty from Brescia. Contrary to the well-known panettone and pandoro, the two world-famous Italian Christmas cakes, most Italians do not even know the bossolà. But because of my collaboration with an artisanal pasticceria – who doesn’t want to do a collaboration with a pasticceria? – this cake was delivered to me all the way in Rome. It was up to me to shoot a very Christmassy photo in my kitchen while eating it, to then publish it on social media. I was also told to not wait too long to do so, because this year the Italians seem to be doing their Christmas shopping and hence, ordering the Christmas cakes, earlier than ever. Perhaps it’s the effect of all those Christmas trees that have already been put up in November. The sooner the photo would be online, the better.
In Italy, it might even be felt a little deeper. In addition to the tens of thousands of Italians that have passed away because of corona, there are other great losses this year
It might be clear that after the second wave of corona cases hitting us at the end of the summer as an evil surprise, we are now longing for warmth and merrymaking. This year more than ever, Christmas is a symbol of hope, warmth, love and feeling close to each other. In Italy, it might even be felt a little deeper. In addition to the tens of thousands of Italians that have passed away because of corona, there are other great losses this year. It is still less than a month ago that the Roman hero Gigi Proietti died, and he is still smiling at us from the big billboards. Diego Maradona’s death last Wednesday struck like a bomb. Naples immediately immersed itself in a collective mourning that will be felt in the city for a very long time to come. It wasn’t long before a joke, but with a serious and bitter undertone, starting circulating on social media: “Hey You Lord up there, in the past month You’ve taken Sean Connery for film, Gigi Proietti for theatre, D’Orazio for music and Diego Maradona for football. Are you sure you don’t need anyone for politics?”
I wouldn’t be surprised if the number 20 becomes the new unlucky number here in Italy, where superstition is still very much alive. But has 2020 really only been a symbol of misery and negativity?
After all, everybody’s so over those politicians announcing new and stricter measures all the time. Nevertheless, the joke is a bit unfair, because the way Giusseppe Conte – Prime Minister of Italy and completely unknown until not that long ago – is steering the country through this crisis, has earned the admiration of both left and right. Although it is a completely irrational thought – a virus cannot be stopped by a turn of the year – there seems to be somehow relief that it’s December tomorrow, and that we’ve made it to the final month of this bizarre year. Twenty-twenty. I wouldn’t be surprised if the number 20 becomes the new unlucky number here in Italy, where superstition is still very much alive. But has 2020 really only been a symbol of misery and negativity?
However, the many negative headlines – “No night masses this year due to curfew”, “Christmas dinners at risk”, “Family reunions impossible due to travel restrictions between regions”, “Ski holidays cancelled” – do not correspond to the attitude I see around me
When I look at the Italian media, it almost seems like they want us to believe so. However, the many negative headlines – “No night masses this year due to curfew”, “Christmas dinners at risk”, “Family reunions impossible due to travel restrictions between regions”, “Ski holidays cancelled” – do not correspond to the attitude I see around me. In Rome, up until now there is a relief and gratitude to be felt for the fact that we are still zona gialla, which implies that, as one of the few Italian regions, we are not in full or partial lockdown. Every time I go out for lunch, sit in a bar working on my computer, or have a coffee around the corner, we tell each other: it’s so amazing that this is still possible. A quote I caught my eye on last week couldn’t describe it more aptly: “I thought 2020 would be the year in which I would get everything I want. However, it was the year in which I learned to be grateful for everything I already have”. It is precisely this positive attitude that has led to the fact there are beautiful Christmas trees to be found all over Rome already. Because in the end, after everything that Italy endured last year, one thing is very certain. Let that warm and cosy December month begin! It might going to be different – smaller gatherings, the priest broadcasting the night mass on Facebook from the presbytery (the curfew also applies to him), and toasting from a distance – but the shared warmth, love and gratitude will be greater than ever.