IF YOU WANT TO CELEBRATE LIKE AN ITALIAN…
Forget resolutions for a moment.
In Italy, New Year’s Eve isn’t only about counting down to midnight.
It’s about surrounding the coming year with as many good omens as possible.
Some involve food.
Others involve red underwear.
Some ask you to kiss.
Others suggest throwing old things out of the window.
Whether you believe in them or not almost doesn’t matter.
They’re part of the fun.
Italian New Year’s Eve traditions: here comes a messy list of customs, some from the past, some still extremely actual! Learn about Italian new year’s eve food, red panties, and kisses.
Christmas is over? Don’t be sad! This year has come to an end, but another one is around the corner. And there is still so much to celebrate.
Join us at our Italian New Year’s Eve party, we’ve got a lot of things to do (and eat).
FIRST COMES THE TABLE
Before midnight arrives, Italians gather around a table that is rarely modest.
The undisputed stars are lentils and cotechino (or zampone).
Lentils resemble tiny coins and have long symbolized prosperity.
The rich, slow-cooked pork represents abundance.
Together, they’re considered one of Italy’s luckiest meals.
You’ll also often find dried figs and dates for sweetness, mandarins for prosperity, and pomegranates, whose countless seeds have long symbolized fertility and new beginnings.
THEN COME THE LITTLE RITUALS
Some traditions are shared across the country.
Others belong to specific regions or families.
Among the best known:
- wearing red underwear (preferably received as a gift);
- kissing at midnight;
- lighting fireworks to drive away negative energies;
- keeping mistletoe at home as a symbol of peace and harmony.
There’s also an old saying every Italian knows:
Quello che si fa a Capodanno si fa tutto l’anno.
“What you do on New Year’s Day, you’ll do all year.”
Which sounds like an excellent excuse to cook, laugh, dance, and spend time with people you love.
WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES MIDNIGHT
Midnight arrives all at once.
The glasses are raised.
The kisses begin.
Some families eat grapes at every chime of the clock, borrowing a beautiful custom from neighboring Spain.
Others call their parents.
After all:
Natale con i tuoi, Capodanno con chi vuoi.
Christmas with your family.
New Year’s Eve with whoever you choose.
And yes…
In some parts of Italy, old stories tell of people throwing furniture out of the window to leave the past behind.
These days it’s thankfully much rarer.
Still, if you’re walking beneath old balconies just after midnight… looking up isn’t the worst idea.
Auguriiiiiiii!!!!!! Buon Anno!!! Felice Anno Nuovo! Have a wonderful New Year!
Claudia