Celebrate Christmas in traditional Italian style – Family gatherings and feast tables: this is the real Italian-style Christmas!
Our meals can last hours during the Christmas season, with so many courses, each of them paired with white, red, and sparkling wine depending on dishes. With all our families gathered, we spend time telling stories, joking and playing tombola.
But what you might find curios about Christmas holidays in Italy is that every day of this festive season follows different traditions and menus that often change from region to region, from city to city. Because in Italy food is a serious business, especially if it’s related to the family and friends!
So, let’s find out together how to celebrate an Italian-style Christmas.
Christmas Eve
Christmas celebrations officially begin on December 8th, but on Christmas Eve things start to get serious.
Especially in the south oh Italy, relatives come together for a big meal that can last hours and hours waiting for midnight, the perfect moment to exchange gifts. The menu is always the protagonist: you will surely find fish and seafood. You might wonder where charcuterie can be placed in a seafood menu. You’ll be surprised to know that cold cuts perfectly paired with fish. An example? Our delicious recipe of Shrimp and pancetta skewers , a stenographic appetizer rich in taste.
Christmas Day
And let’s come to the most relevant moment: the Christmas lunch which starts off with antipasti that typically include cured meats and salami, as well as Italian cheeses, olives, sweet and sour vegetables, breadsticks and scones. To replicate it on your table, discover our Enjoy AperiTime’s line that pairs all these products for a perfect Italian taste explosion.
An Italian meal cannot be defined as such without pasta, especially at Christmas. As said before, the menu changes from region to region: in Northern Italy people prefer stuffed pasta like Lasagne or Tortellini, a ring-shaped Italian pasta stuffed with cheese or meat that is most traditionally served in broth, while in Southern and Central Italy they choose large quantities of baked pasta.
Christmas sweets
Finally comes the most awaited moment of the day, that of dessert. Italian people are divided into two teams: the first one eats pandoro, the second one loves panettone, both are soft Italian Christmas cakes filled with candied fruit or chocolate chips, and often combined with mascarpone cream. All things are served with the best wines and sparkling wines of Italian wine production. A royal treatment at least at Christmas!
