eve (of a holiday)
vigilie
vee-JEE-lyah
La vigilia di Natale (Christmas Eve) is often more important than Christmas Day in southern Italy. The traditional meal is fish-based (La Cena della Vigilia), with no meat.
La vigilia di Natale si mangia pesce in molte famiglie.
On Christmas Eve many families eat fish.
La vigilia di Capodanno organizziamo una cena con gli amici.
On New Year's Eve we organize a dinner with friends.