Italian Christmas Food (2024)

FAQs

What is a traditional Christmas food in Italy? ›

In Southern and Central Italy, baked pasta is a must. In Northern Italy, Lasagne Bolognese and filled pasta like manicotti and ravioli are traditional Christmas fare. Next comes the main event, the meat. Roasted veal, baked chicken, sausages or braised beef are common Natale entrées worth celebrating.

Other fish-based Sicily Christmas dishes are fried squids, smoked herrings, or stuffed squids, too good to say no! If the menu is focused on meat-based food, then you can't miss the messinesi meat rolls, sausages, meatloaf and the typical falsomagro.

In Italy's South, Christmas comes to life – quite literally – with the presepi viventi or Living Nativity. Locals reenact the biblical nativity scene – including mooing and braying livestock. Donning traditional clothing, residents dress up as Mary, Joseph, the Three Wise Men, Shepherds, and the Angels.

Lunch on Christmas day usually starts with a tortellini or stracciatella soups and occasionally a thistle and egg broth. It then continues with a classic pasta dish such as lasagna or cannelloni followed by roast lamb with potatoes being a classic. Puntarelle salad, artichokes and 'misticanza' are side dishes.

We are in the heart of the sweetest season: panettone and pandoro! The holidays in Italy wouldn't be complete without panettoni and pandori: they are as iconic as a tree, wreath, or mistletoe in other cultures.

One of the most common drinks to be sipped at Christmas is Mulled Wine. Since medieval times, good old Mulled Wine has been the drink to warm up the body at winter time. In Italy, this drink is also known as Vin Brulé, although depending on how you take this drink, there's are difference.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is the annual Christmas Eve vigil and epic seafood feast that has grown into the most beloved meal of the year in Italian-American households. Steeped in tradition, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is the centerpiece meal of the entire holiday season.

Since Christmas Eve dinner is part of the celebration, the traditional Italian breakfast items for this time of year include leftover pandoro, a sweet bread, or panettone and panforte, two types of fruit bread.

The tradition included: olives, dried tomatoes, giardiniera, pasta with breadcrumbs, fried cod, stewed cod with potatoes, black broccoli, white broccoli, fennel, walnuts, chestnuts, mandarins and crespelle.

Origins and tradition

The long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from eating meat on the eve of a feast day. As no meat or animal fat could be used on such days, observant Catholics would instead eat fish (typically fried in oil).

What gifts are given in Italy for Christmas? ›

What gifts are given for Christmas in Italy? According to a recent analysis by Google, perfumery and personal care products are the most popular Christmas gifts in Italy. Toys and technological items (including TVs and smartphones) are next, followed by books and stationery items (such as calendars, pens and diaries).

As is customary in Rome, the Christmas Day meal begins with a Stracciatella soup or Tortellini, followed by a classic pasta dish (such as Cannelloni or Lasagne). Following on is the main meat dish, with vegetables.

Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Because of when the holiday occurred—near the winter solstice—Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas, such as wreaths, candles, feasting and gift-giving.

The winter is usually filled with rich stews of oxtail, or the pan-Italian favorite of tortellini in meat broth. In summer, the fare tends to be lighter, like pollo con i peperoni—chicken stewed with white wine, tomato and tons of fresh bell peppers. The true iconic “seasonal” meat of Rome, though, is abbacchio.

Ever since the Middle Ages locals in Lombardy liked to celebrate Christmas with richer, more lavish breads made with premium wheat not typically eaten every day. These breads were larger, hence another likely origin of the name “panettone”, which in Italian also means “big bread”.

Special treats on La Befana include sweet coal, small cookies called befanini and Befana cake – a cake with a large dried bean inside. Whoever gets the bean in their slice is king (or queen) for the day.

Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham, are also used. Pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are staples for dessert.

In Italy, Santa is called Babbo Natale, which translates as Father Christmas.