Winter
Christmas in Rome
Winter
Christmas in Rome
Rome in winter
A FESTIVE CITY BREAK
What is Rome like at Christmas time?
There’s a well-known Italian saying that goes “Natale con i tuoi, pasqua con chi vuoi”. It means “Spend Christmas with your family and Easter with whoever you want”. As you can imagine, lots of locals don’t actually end up celebrating Christmas in Rome because they’re off visiting relatives up in the north or down in the south of Italy.
Are you feeling festive? Keep reading to find out what Rome is like at Christmas…
THE TRADITIONS
AND TO DOS!
DECEMBER IN ROME
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CHRISTMAS Eve
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TRADITIONAL FOOD
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NEW YEAR’S EVE
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BEFANA THE WITCH
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Christmas spirit
DECEMBER IN ROME
In Rome, the Christmas spirit starts to kick in on 8 December. It never feels super Christmassy, though, to be honest. The city can’t exactly compete with the likes of London, Vienna or Stockholm on the festive front because it’s just too warm (there is definitely a positive side to that, though).
The lights on the huge Christmas tree on Piazza Venezia (in front of the Vittoriano) are switched on for the first time on 8 December. Once the Saint Peter’s Square tree is lit up a few days later, you know that Christmas has truly arrived in Rome.
There aren’t many Christmas markets in Rome, but Piazza Navona is home to one popular one called the Befana Market! But it’s more about action and entertainment than mulled wine and quiet contemplation. To give you some idea, there’s a carousel, a puppet theatre and little stands where you can buy Christmassy knick-knacks.
When’s it on? 1 December 2022 to 6 January 2023
The Villaggio di Natale Christmas village at the Cinecittà World amusement park is a real hit with kids.
The highlight of any December evening in Rome has to be all the Christmas lights twinkling in the streets (like Via del Corso and Via dei Condotti). Want a top tip? Climb the 135 Spanish Steps and admire the stunning lights on Via dei Condotti. If you really want to get into the Christmas spirit, all the lights and stars in the Trastevere neighbourhood should do the job!
CHRISTMAS
CELEBRATIONS
Rome is no different to so many other places around the world. Everyone is stressed out and running around in search of the perfect presents until 24 December.
And then they all relax at once. On Christmas Eve, the locals will be out and about in the city, meeting up with friends, exchanging gifts and wishing everyone a happy Christmas. The Christmas Eve aperitivo starts at around midday and goes on until it gets dark. By the time the evening comes, the streets and squares are empty and quiet. Everyone has headed home to start their own Christmas celebrations.
In recent years, Babbo Natale (or Father Christmas) has been bringing children their presents on 24/25 December. This is a relatively new tradition and a good example of globalisation at work. The poor children in Italy used to have to wait until 6 January to receive their gifts. Gifts that were delivered by a witch! Yes, you read that right! More on that later…
TRADITIONAL
FOOD
If you find yourself in Rome at Christmas time, you won’t be able to miss the mountains of panettone and pandoro. They are everywhere! You’ll see stacks of these traditional Christmas treats in square boxes in every supermarket, bar and restaurant.
Panettone and pandoro may both be super sweet, but they differ in the way they look and the way they’re made. Pandoro is a sweet bread made with yeast and dusted with icing sugar, while panettone originates as a sourdough starter and is bursting with candied fruit and raisins. A classic pandoro, originally from Verona, comes in the shape of a star and is around 20 centimetres tall. The name comes from the Italian for bread (pane) and gold (oro). It’ll all make sense when you see how yellow pandoro is. Meanwhile, panettone is a dome-shaped cake from Milan that’s traditionally served without icing sugar.
24, 25 and 26 December are all about eating, eating and more eating. With some card games and bingo to break up all that eating.
A traditional meal on 24 December would be seafood pasta followed by fish (sea bass, sea bream and salmon are popular choices).
25 December is when the main Christmas dinner is served. It usually involves enough food to keep everyone full until Easter! Meat dishes are typically the stars of the show on Christmas Day itself. A starter of Vitello Tonnato (thin slices of veal in a tuna-flavoured sauce) followed by Lasagne or Ravioli to begin with. And then comes the Christmas roast or a Bollito Misto (a classic stew containing seven different cuts of meat). Anyone who’s still hungry can always tuck into some dessert!
The dishes served up on 26 December tend to vary, but you can bet that there will be a whole lot of whatever is on the menu 🙂
And because entertainment is a big deal in Italy, you can expect a firework display at midnight on Christmas Day (just like on New Year’s Eve).
PARTY TIME IN ROME
NEW YEAR’S EVE
The whole thing – food, bingo, fireworks – is repeated on 31 December. It’s fairly standard for restaurants in Rome to have their own special New Year’s Eve menus. They usually have loads of courses and an inflated price to boot. You absolutely have to book a table if you want to eat in a restaurant in Rome on New Year’s Eve. You will be disappointed if you just turn up without a reservation.
The firework display in the city never disappoints, so you can expect the spots with the best view to be packed – that includes Janiculum Hill and the squares outside the main attractions. The concert on Via dei Imperiali (between the Colosseum and Piazza Venezia) kicks off at 9.30 p.m.
Crowds gather in the street and count down to the new year together. Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo are popular spots.
The metro runs later than normal, with trains going until 2.30 a.m. instead of 11.30 p.m. Don’t be caught out, though, because the last buses leave at around 9.00 p.m. It’s best to always check your journey times the day before because you can never quite be sure about the public transport in Rome.
BEFANA
THE WITCH
On 6 January, a witch called Befana flies from house to house on her broomstick, delivering (token) gifts to the children.
But why? Why would a witch be delivering presents? We all know the story of the Three Wise Men following the Star of Bethlehem to find baby Jesus. Well, legend has it that a witch wasn’t so lucky in her search that night. Keen to take her own gifts to baby Jesus, she set out to find him on her own. Because she couldn’t be sure which child was Jesus, she stopped to give a gift to every child she came across along the way.
And that’s exactly what she does to this day. She hands out presents to children who have been nice and punishments to children who have been naughty.
SUMMARY
If you’re planning a trip to Rome at Christmas time, don’t worry about wrapping up warm. The weather is usually pleasantly mild. You might want to make sure you pack loose clothing, though… You can’t go to Rome without overindulging at the best of times, but you can expect to eat twice as much as normal if you go there around Christmas!
PS: If you love Christmas but you can’t make it to Rome in December, make sure you check out “Mr. Christmas The Original”, a shop on Via del Corso. Every day is Christmas in there!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Céline & Susi
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2021 – 2024
With the support of Susanne Vukan
Featured Image Credits:
Fireworks: Firework_2007 Ruben Wisniewski
