Italian Christmas Vocabulary: Natale, Panettone, and Holiday Traditions
In Italy, Christmas does not arrive on the 25th of December — it arrives on the 8th, with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, when decorations go up and the presepe is assembled. It lasts until the 6th of January — Epiphany, or la Festa della Befana — when a witch on a broomstick brings sweets to good children and coal to naughty ones. In between, there are weeks of family lunches, midnight masses, markets, panettone, and a very particular kind of Italian warmth that is quite unlike Christmas anywhere else in the world.
Italian Christmas traditions are deeply regional. In the south, the Feast of the Seven Fishes (La Vigilia di Natale) is the centrepiece of Christmas Eve — a long, magnificent meal of seven different seafood dishes. In the north, families gather around tables laden with roast meats and tortellini in brodo. In Rome, the presepe — the nativity scene — is set up in every church and many homes, a tradition so central that artisans still carve terracotta figurines by hand in Naples' famous Via San Gregorio Armeno. The unifying thread is family — and food.
Christmas Vocabulary
Buon Natale! — Merry Christmas!
La Vigilia si festeggia con il cenone di pesce. — Christmas Eve is celebrated with a fish feast.
Abbiamo fatto il presepe con il muschio e le statuette. — We set up the nativity with moss and figurines.
I bambini aspettano Babbo Natale la notte del 24. — Children wait for Santa on the night of the 24th.
La Befana porta le caramelle ai bambini buoni. — The Befana brings sweets to good children.
Il panettone con lo zabaione è irresistibile. — Panettone with zabaione cream is irresistible.
Pandoro o panettone? È la grande domanda di Natale. — Pandoro or panettone? It's the great Christmas debate.
Il cenone di Capodanno dura fino all'alba. — New Year's Eve dinner lasts until dawn.
Apriamo i regali a Natale mattina. — We open gifts on Christmas morning.
Abbiamo decorato l'albero con le luci e le palline. — We decorated the tree with lights and baubles.
Andiamo alla messa di mezzanotte ogni anno. — We go to midnight mass every year.
A Capodanno ci sono i fuochi d'artificio dappertutto. — At New Year there are fireworks everywhere.
Buon Anno Nuovo! — Happy New Year!
Le lenticchie a Capodanno portano fortuna. — Lentils on New Year's Eve bring good luck.
Cotechino e lenticchie: il cenone di San Silvestro. — Cotechino and lentils: the New Year's Eve feast.
More Christmas and Winter Vocabulary
Le stelle di Natale decorano le finestre di tutta la città. — Poinsettias decorate the windows all across the city.
Il mercatino di Natale di Bolzano è il più famoso d'Italia. — The Bolzano Christmas market is the most famous in Italy.
I bambini appendono la calza la sera del 5 gennaio. — Children hang the stocking on the evening of 5 January.
Il torrone di Cremona è il migliore d'Italia. — Cremona nougat is the best in Italy.
Un bicchiere di vin brulé al mercatino è perfetto. — A glass of mulled wine at the Christmas market is perfect.
Buone feste a tutti! — Happy holidays to everyone!
Il presepe vivente del paese è una tradizione secolare. — The village's living nativity is a centuries-old tradition.
The Italian Christmas Calendar
| Date | Occasion | Italian name | Tradition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 December | Immaculate Conception | Immacolata Concezione | Decorations go up; presepe assembled |
| 24 December | Christmas Eve | Vigilia di Natale | Feast of the Seven Fishes (south); tortellini in brodo (north) |
| 25 December | Christmas Day | Natale | Lunch with family; opening of some gifts |
| 26 December | St Stephen's Day | Santo Stefano | Public holiday; more family meals |
| 31 December | New Year's Eve | San Silvestro / Capodanno | Cotechino with lentils; fireworks at midnight |
| 6 January | Epiphany / Befana | Epifania / Festa della Befana | Befana brings sweets; Christmas officially ends |
The Befana is one of Italy's most distinctive and beloved traditions. On the night of 5 January, the Befana — an old woman riding a broomstick — descends chimneys to fill the stockings of Italian children with sweets and small gifts if they have been good, or coal (carbone) if they have been naughty. The word 'Befana' is a corruption of 'Epifania' (Epiphany). The tradition predates Santa Claus in Italy and remains cherished today: an Italian folk saying goes, 'L'Epifania tutte le feste porta via' — Epiphany carries all the holidays away. When the Befana has come and gone, Christmas is truly over.
Christmas Greetings and Phrases
Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Tanti auguri di buone feste!
Best wishes for a happy holiday season!
Cosa fai a Natale?
What are you doing at Christmas?
Torniamo dalla famiglia per le feste.
We're going back to family for the holidays.
Preferisci il panettone o il pandoro?
Do you prefer panettone or pandoro?
Cin cin! Buon anno!
Cheers! Happy New Year!
Hai già fatto l'albero di Natale?
Have you already put up the Christmas tree?
La Befana viene la notte del cinque.
The Befana comes on the night of the fifth.
The panettone versus pandoro debate is Italy's most beloved Christmas controversy. Panettone — the dome-shaped bread cake studded with candied fruit and raisins — comes from Milan and has been made since the 15th century. Pandoro — the golden, star-shaped cake dusted with icing sugar and no fruit — is from Verona. Every Italian family has an opinion on which is superior, and the debate rages every Christmas with good-natured but genuine passion. Most modern Italians solve the problem by eating both. There is also a correct way to serve panettone: cut vertically in wedges, never in horizontal slices, and always offer it with a glass of Moscato d'Asti or a rich zabaione cream.
Christmas markets in Italy — mercatini di Natale — are particularly spectacular in the north, especially in the German-speaking regions of Trentino-Alto Adige. The Bolzano (Bozen) Christmas market, held in the historic central piazza since 1991, is one of the oldest and most atmospheric in Italy, drawing visitors from across Europe. The tradition reflects the area's Austrian heritage: wooden stalls, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, handmade decorations, and the smell of cinnamon and cloves in cold mountain air. Further south, the markets become more Italian in character — presepi on sale, torrone, and panettone in every flavour imaginable.
2,500+ free exercises are waiting for you.
Start practising free →