Visitors of Italy who come during the Christmas Season complain of the lack of Christmas spirit even while they gush about the solemnity of the midnight mass in St. Peter’s Square.

It’s true though. If you are looking for the green and gold brightly lit Christmas Trees and the red and green window decorations plus the bigger than life plaster images of Santa and his reindeer then you are in for a bit of disappointment.

Christmas in Italy is more serene and religious. In fact, the feast of Epiphany on the 6th of January is sometimes given more importance than the 25th of December itself. The Italians, however, love the Christmas season so much that they actually celebrate it for an entire month starting on December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother.

As early as the time of pagan Rome, this period between December and January was celebrated. It started with the winter solstice festival and ended with the Roman New Year, the Calends. Emperor Constantine extended this celebration to the 6th of January, the period during which the Three Kings were believed to have seen the infant Jesus. In celebration, the Romans too exchanged gifts with friends and loved ones during this day.

In modern Italy, there are also brightly colored Christmas Trees but the core of the decorations is the Nativity scene – the infant Jesus lying in the manger. Italians are particularly proud of the manger created in 1223 by St. Francis of Assissi.

Christmas music mostly come from bagpipes that are played in the market squares by the zampognari, shepherds who come down from their mountain homes at Christmas time to play their bagpipes, so popular in the regions of Calabria and Abuzzo and in the piazzas of Rome. This tradition of bagpipes dates back to the ancient Roman times. Legend has it that the Blessed Virgin Mary was entertained in Bethlehem by shepherds playing their bagpipes.

Santa Claus has a female counterpart in Italy and she is called La Befana, an old woman who flies on a broom and brings presents. Italian legend narrates that the Three Kings asked La Befana for directions to Bethlehem and had invited her to join them but she refused thrice. When she was finally convinced through the appearance of an unusually bright light and a band of angels, she was too late.

La Befana never saw the Christ child and since then has been searching for him. During the Feast of Epiphany on January 6, La Befana goes out on her broom to drop off treats to the sleeping children of Italy pretty much like Santa Claus does with his reindeer.