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Written by: Marco Giraudi, Andrea Gjuzi, Davide Vescovi II F from Italy

 For us Italians, preparing for Christmas is one of the most important traditions of the year because we dedicate much time and effort to making sure everything is perfect. Not just young people, but everyone, absolutely everyone, cares deeply about Christmas and its traditions.One of the many traditions from the past that we don’t use much today is the belief that pets start talking on the night between the 24th and 25th, and it’s thought that if you hear them you’ll go deaf or even die, which is why many elderly people give their pets an extra dose of food to ensure they sleep peacefully.

Usually on the 24th, during the Christmas dinner, we prepare the dishes that are then eaten the next day with the whole family. Since we are still quite young and our parents don’t want us to use the stove, we set the table or tidy up our house.A few days before, we decorate the tree with our family, but we also build the nativity scene and decorate the house with elves and the front door with a garland that we usually make at school.

Another tradition is Saint Nicholas, whose feast day is December 6th, so the day before, we place a plate with cookies and a cup of milk near the fireplace. Next to it, we leave a carrot for his donkey, because as children, they told us that if he didn’t see anything to eat, he wouldn’t bring us any gifts, especially no sweets.

They also told us to write a little letter, where we chose the gift we had wanted for the whole year. Our parents said that Saint Nicholas would bring it to us only if we made an effort throughout the year.