#8 Tonight, red is the colour… (English)

Christmas has flown by and although spending time together with family and friends is the most precious thing of all, unwrapping your name-tagged presents which have been staring at you from under the Christmas tree, is pretty exciting too. Did you get any red underwear by chance? Eh, red underwear?! A coral red bra with some lace or a red boxer perhaps, would that not be a little embarrassing to unwrap in front of the whole family? For the Italians it isn’t at all – despite their catholic religion and the often slightly conservative values that come with it – because they believe wearing red underwear on la Vigilia di Capodanno (New Year’s Eve) brings luck. And this superstitious belief, still playing a big role in society especially in the more southern part of Italy, tells us that good luck will only come if the red underwear was actually gifted to you. In fact, when you’re strolling through an Italian shopping street in December, you’ll notice how all the shopping windows of Calzedonia and Intimissimi – the largest Italian underwear brands – are filled with mannequins wearing red underwear. A golden (or red?) business. 

Low-key I’m actually really looking forward to such a proper Amsterdam party in my very Italian life

Tomorrow will be the very last day of the year, of the decade in fact. In Italy, the thirty-first of December is San Silvestro: the saint’s day of Silvester. At night, they traditionally throw a cenone, a very big dinner with more food than you could possibly eat. Contrary to Christmas, a feast which is traditionally celebrated with family, Capodanno is celebrated with friends. Exàctly the way I’ve been celebrating it for years: fifteen friends and a ten course meal. Starting at five in the afternoon, we keep eating until the moment of the bells. Every year, our dinner has a certain theme, and this year it’s ‘Bij ons in de Jordaan!’. Impossible to translate, as it refers to the most famous neighbourhood of Amsterdam which has a culture of its own: rich of music and even their own dialect. Tomorrow night our venue will be transformed into a very traditional old-men Amsterdam pub. All decorations, the outfits, the food and the music will be in the style of ‘de Jordaan’. Low-key I’m actually really looking forward to such a proper Amsterdam party in my very Italian life.  

However, I happen to be a millennial (whether this is a curse or a blessing you can decide for yourself), and this means I grew up with Pippi Longstocking, the redhead Swedish girl who appeared to be a true role model for my generation with her brilliant quotes

In between all the festive preparations, I’m using these final days of December to reflect on the past year. What a year it has been! In July, I quit my full-time job and I left for Naples soon after. I came back home for a while and after a week in Paris in September, I moved to Rome in October. I started blogging – which I have been doing weekly for almost two months now – in three languages! Before writing my first blog I had no idea whether I could do this. As a matter of fact: I had never done it before. Would I have enough inspiration to put something on paper every single week? Blogging in Dutch and English seemed perfectly doable, but would I be able to do it in Italian too? I had that very first blog checked at least three times with an Italian friend who happens to be a very good writer himself, but I immediately realised this wasn’t going to work out on the long run. Family and friends who saw my struggle suggested I should just leave the Italian version. I considered it, was I putting too much stress upon myself? However, I happen to be a millennial (whether this is a curse or a blessing you can decide for yourself), and this means I grew up with Pippi Longstocking, the redhead Swedish girl who appeared to be a true role model for my generation with her brilliant quotes: “I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that”. A quote that resonated with me, and I soon realised that only writing the Italian version truly scared me. That was exactly the reason I decided to keep going: only when you overcome your biggest fears, you start growing. So are my blogs perfect? Not at all. Did I receive negative comments, next to the many more heartwarming sweet and positive comments? Oh yes. Nonetheless, that doesn’t stop me from doing what I simply happen to love. 

And to help my own luck a little (you never know…), I’ve already carefully selected my red underwear…

However, I couldn’t do it without you, my audience. That’s why I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, whether this is the first blog you read or you have been a loyal follower from day one. Through my blogs, you are becoming part of my dream and that idea makes me so excited! So, the biggest, deepest and warmest GRAZIE. To a new decade in which our dreams can overcome any limits! For 2020, I wish you and your loved ones an endless amount of love, happiness and health and for tomorrow night, an amazing Vigilia di Capodanno. So while I will be dancing the night away in my over-knee snake leather boots (fake of course) and in my velvet dress, I’ll do a toast on each one of you at the hour of midnight. And to help my own luck a little (you never know…), I’ve already carefully selected my red underwear…