You are visiting Italy this New Year and are very excited to explore the celebrations happening in Rome and Venice. Discover the Italian New Year traditions to know more about the ritual and festivities of this awaited holiday.



On visiting any part of this beautiful country you can find various Italian New Year customs.

Venice, Rome, Naples and Florence are the places where there are many families who celebrate New Year in traditional style. New Year celebrations are spread for three days. People held gatherings, special dinner and exchange gifts during this period.

Italian New Year Traditions

The Romans prepare for the New Year celebrations with great excitement and joy. The New Year is known as ‘January Kalends’. The preparations start with decoration of houses and work places. Lights are adorned and greenery is given much preference during the New Year Italian decorations.

The Italian people wear new clothes and exchange gifts on these days. The gifts play very vital role in brining fortune to homes. People are extra careful in choosing the right presents for their loved ones. The Italian New Year gift items that are considered very lucky sweets, honey jar, Gold, silver, money, coins and lamps. Every gift denotes something very special features and this is the reason that Italian people love spreading their happiness by sharing these gifts.

Honey signifies sweetness and peace; gold and other precious metals are to bring prosperity and lamps are to illuminate the year with light.

Another funny tradition in Italy on New Year is to wear red inner wears. It is auspicious to welcome the new beginning by ringing in ‘La Fiesta di San Silvestro’ which means – New Years Eve in Italy.

 

 

Italian New Year Lucky Foods

In Italy, food is given much upper hand while observing the Italian New Year customs. The customs vary from region to places but, some of the major items never changes. Sweet bread or cake is clicked and served in most of the parts of Italy. This food item symbolizes prosperity and hope for New Year.

Lentils are considered very lucky in Italy and these are consumed with the New Year traditional meals. The black eyed peas are considered fortune bringing food item. It symbolizes money and since, they are green it is really auspicious. Pork with fatty sausages signifies fattening wallets.

For special dinner as one of the significant Italian New Year traditions different cuisines are prepared and enjoyed with all the family members. Here is the menu for Italian New Year meals –

  • Appetizers – Pickled herring (you can opt for herring as salad or with sour cream sauce)
  • Black-eyed peas and ham (other option includes beef short ribs or sauerkraut)
  • Cole slaw or you can go with cabbage salad
  • In dessert, pig shaped cookies, plain cake (with coin baked in it) and other Greek cuisines are very popular in the New Years Italian celebrations.

Hope you enjoyed the Italian New Year traditions and had fun knowing about the various customs and beliefs of Europe.

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