The Christmas Holiday in Italy
Italy, also known as the Italian Republic, is a country in southern area. It is made up of a boot-shaped main peninsula, and the two small islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Italy is bordered on its northern end by France, Austria, and Switzerland so the country has a strong association with some of the most culturally rich areas in the world.
The Christmas holiday in Italy is truly an artistic, cultural experience. Italy is actually where the Nativity scenes first became such a popular tradition. Saint Francis of Assisi once asked a man named Giovanni Vellita to create a scene of Mary, Joseph and their newborn child in the manger. The manger scene, called a Nativity, was immediately a hit with the people in Italy. Saint Francis of Assissi gave his mass in front of this manger scene, and it helped promote reverence during the ceremony. Ever since then, the manger scenes which were usually called cribs have been an integral part to an authentic Christmas holiday in Italy. Every year, people construct cribs of whatever they have skill in making things out of--usually whatever they can get their hands on. The cribs are seen all over Italy, and they can be made of wax, wood, metal, straw, or even stone. Each crib is always very unique and artistic; some people make a hobby out of creating cribs each year for Christmas.
The central theme in a crib always involves the Virgin Mary, her husband Joseph, baby Jesus in the manger and usually the ox and the lamb since it is said that they kept the infant warm with their breath. The artist usually builds upon their crib from here, adding outlying scenery such as stables in the area, flocks of sheep, stars (the Star of Bethlehem) or additional animals in the manger. Sometimes, the artist will even add in the three wise men and their gifts, for effect.
Local churches may hold competitions, challenging one another to build the best crib scene, and multiple members of the church congregation make take part in the contest.
Unlike children in other areas of the world, Italian children do not receive presents from a jolly old man in a red and white suit named Santa Claus. They receive gifts from a kindly, yet rather ugly, old witch named La Befana. La Befana flies around on a broomstick dropping children's gifts off at their homes. As legend tells it, La Befana encountered upon the three wise men on their journey to Bethlehem to visit the Virgin Mary and the promised, holy infant. They were weary and wanted to rest with her, and she denied them and sent the men along their way.
After they left her sight, La Befana realized that she may have been too harsh and had a change of heart, but by this time the men were well along their way. She followed them, in search of the infant as well and of course she never found him. According to the legend, La Befana drops gifts off at the homes of all the children who have been well-behaved, because the baby Jesus may be in the home and she is trying to give the gifts to him. If a child has been bad that year, La Befana knows that baby Jesus could not possibly be there and so she tends to leave coal in children's shoes instead of gifts.