January 6 - Epiphania - Epiphany - and Befana - An important Catholic holiday which celebrates the arrival of the three wise men bearing gifts for the newborn Jesus. According to legend, the three wise men stopped during their journey and asked an old woman for food and shelter. She refused them and they continued on their way. Within a few hours the woman had a change of heart but the Magi were long gone. La Befana (which is a corruption of Epiphany) still wanders the earth searching for the Christ Child. On Epiphany Eve (January 5th) the good witch flies from rooftop to rooftop on her broomstick (some say she rides a decrepit mule) bearing gifts for children. Like Santa, she enters through the chimney and leaves presents for good children and pieces of coal (carbon) for the naughty ones. All stores, banks, public offices, bars and most means of public transportation are closed on this day in observance. If this holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the Monday or Friday in-between is treated as a ponte (bridge) holiday and most retail stores and public services remain incapacitated.

Carnivale - From Easter Sunday we have to backtrack the 40 days of Lent to a Wednesday. The Tuesday before that Wednesday is Fat Tuesday and is the last day of Carnivale. The manifestation, therefore, will be the 10 to 14 days leading up to this Fat Tuesday. Carnivale or Carnival is celebrated all over the country this month. Derived from carnem levare, literally, 'remove the meat' in Latin, carnival officially starts in mid-January and ends on the day before Ash Wednesday. This is the first day of Lent, the period of 40 days abstinence during which Christians were once forbidden from eating meat. It's a pagan holiday of medieval origin dating back to ancient winter rites when disguises and laughter were used to chase away the evil spirits of winter. During the first week of celebrations adults go to veglioni (late night parties), often wearing costumes and masks while children wear disguises to school and around the piazzas feeding on the candies stuffed in their pockets. Carnevale pastries (which are thin dough strips fried and dusted with powdered sugar) called fritelle, tortelli or chiacchiere fill the shops. Celebrations reach a crescendo of parties and parades on the final day, Martedi Grasso (Fat Tuesday) when a symbol of the carnival itself is burned on a bonfire (with many regional variations on this theme). Local traditions often play a major role in the way carnival is celebrated, giving the festivities unique flavor in many cities and towns. The duration of the festivities varies from locality to locality but it usually lasts a week to ten days from beginning to end. Everything remains open and the country takes on a festive, party spirit.

March 8 - Festa della Donne - This is a day in which all good men bring bunches of Mimosa flowers to any special women in their lives (wives, mothers, secretaries, daughters and so on). The flowers are bright yellow in color and leave pollen stains on whatever they touch. The origins of the custom are unclear but the main contenders are: 1) an initiative set forth by Clara Zetkin and adopted at the 1910 convention of Socialist Women in Copenhagen and 2) an adopted measure that set the day apart to honor women that was established at the second conference of Communist Women in Moscow in 1921 and 3) ...and this one gets my vote - there was a fire in the Triangle Shirt Factory in New York in 1911, in which 134 Italian women who were locked inside because they were refusing to participate in a strike, were tragically killed. The choice of mimosa flowers came about in 1946 by the organizer of the festivities in Rome who wanted to find a seasonal flower that was cheap. They caught on like wildflowers and the rest, as they say, is history. True to Italian tradition, however, the holiday has come under fire in recent years from notable women who are arguing to abolish the holiday on the basis of Italy’s dismal number of women in power. The country ranks the lowest in Europe for women managers (8%), parliament members (10%) and ambassadors (0%)

March 19 - Father's Day in Italy - until a few years ago this day, the Feast of San Giuseppe, was a national holiday but has recently slid from its official status and become optional. San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph) was the husband of Mary and is the patron saint of the family although he also looks after orphans, unwed mothers, the needy and the homeless (all the dispossessed who have become outcasts of the family). In a carryover from ancient times, the day is still marked all over the peninsula by cleansing bonfires lit in honor of mankind's most famous father although they are fewer in number than they were at one time. At the very least, life companions or relatives of fathers usually gift their beloved 'papa' (pronounced: pa-PAH) with typically masculine gifts that are accepted in a stiltedly proud manner...

April 1 - Pesce d'Aprile - April Fool's Day - A day in which people do dirty deeds against one another in the name of humor. The favorite one here is to tape a drawing of a fish to the back of an unsuspecting friend and group laugh (silently) as they walk around like an idiot.

Venerdi Santo - Good Friday - which culminates the Holy Week and commemorates the Passion and Death of Christ. It is a very important and well-observed religious holiday in Italy, but most stores and public services remain open.

Pasqua - Easter - The most important religious holiday in Italy mourning the death of Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs after the 21st of March. The vast majority of Italians go to church at some point during the day and most cities have special celebrations. I have listed some of the most noteworthy ones, but the list is much longer that what I could possibly offer here. Everything is shut down including stores, banks, public services and offices, businesses, newsstands and bars. Keep in mind that the day after is another national holiday and everything remains closed just like on Easter Day.

Lunedi dopo Pasqua (Monday after Easter) also known as Lunedi dell angelo (Monday of the Angel) which celebrates the rising of Christ. It's just about as important of a religious holiday as Easter and all stores, banks, public transportation and services, bars, tobacconists, offices, businesses, newsstands and bars are closed.

April 25 - Festa della Resistenza - Liberation Day - This is the Italian version of our Fourth of July, in which the Italians were liberated from German occupation in 1945 by an invasion staged by the allied forces. All stores, banks and public offices are closed in observance. If this holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the Monday or Friday in-between is treated as a ponte (bridge) holiday and most retail stores and public services remain incapacitated.

May 1 - May Day - or Festa dei Lavoratori (Day of the Worker) - This is a very popular holiday born of Communistic roots, that celebrates the cause of the common working man and woman. There are plentiful parades and public speeches (usually fiery and Communist in nature). Young and old alike wear red scarves and sport emblems and pins of the refounded Communist Party to show their support for the common man and his dilemma. All stores, banks, public services and offices, businesses, and most newsstands and bars are closed. If this holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the Monday or Friday in-between is treated as a ponte (bridge) holiday and most stores and public services remain dysfunctional.

Sunday 60 Days after Easter - Corpus Domini (or Corpus Christi in English) – This is a pretty important holiday over here even though nothing closes because nothing is open anyway on Sunday. The most unique and beautiful manifestations call out carpets of flowers that are trod upon by religious pilgrims while others celebrate with parades, liturgy and feasts. This purely religious holiday was born in a little town called Bolsena in the year 1263 and by a priest who was on a pilgrimage to Rome. He was afflicted with a religious condition called “Berengarianism” which means that he doubted whether the wine and bread used during mass really transformed into the body of Christ. To ask for strength in his vocation and to remove his doubts about the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, he stopped at Bolsena, a small town north of Rome. During this fateful Mass at the consecration as the priest said, "This is My Body," the Host (a statue of Christ) began to bleed profusely. The priest took his robes and wrapped up the bleeding Host and some of the blood fell on the marble floor in front of the altar. He immediately took the story of what had happened, his bloodstained robes and some of the marble upon which had fallen blood, to Pope Urban IV who was in nearby Orvieto at the time. The Pope declared that a Eucharistic miracle had occurred which dispelled the heresy of Berengarianism and also created a new feast, the Feast of Corpus Christi, to commemorate the Miracle. The bloodstained marble tiles are kept in Bolsena, in the church that was built in 1290 to house them, and the bloodstained robes in Orvieto.

June 2 - The Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic is a subject of typically long-winded Italian debate that has been declared to officially fall on a number of different dates depending on who is talking and from which pulpit. Originally, the leaders of the 'Risorgimento' (the military expedition that led to the unification of Italy in 1861) did not accept the date of March 17th, which was the day in that year that the unified kingdom was declared by law. Instead, they preferred March 4th and worked their best to popularize THEIR date. Both dates were legally combined in 1977 to be celebrated on the first Sunday of June due to 'weather considerations' and to eliminate some of Italy's many holidays as a means to boost productivity. However, in the first weeks of the year 2001, President Ciampi signed into law the new official date of June 2nd, citing it as the actual date when Italians voted in a referendum to abolish the monarch and create a republic. This, of course, drew criticism from a large faction of the public who prefer May 25th, 1943 which was the day of 'liberation' from Fascist rule. I hesitate to take any side here since the very introduction of the subject in a mixed group of Italians draws fire from all sides. Suffice it to say that the marching band parades flanked by veterans come out on different days in different communities. Nothing closes and all public services function at their normal rates of efficiency.

August 15 – Ferragosto – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin - This is the day that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken up and assumed into heaven and it virtually shuts down Italy. For example, Milan loses from 65% to 75% of its permanent residents to the beaches and mountains despite recent advertising campaigns that tiredly recite the catchphrase 'Milan remains open'. Most of Italy's geographical interior is already dysfunctional because August is considered 'vacation month' from the first day of August. Take heed that not only during, but also slightly before and after this holiday everything in Italy shuts down including most tourist attractions, supermarkets, restaurants, stores, banks, public services and offices, businesses, and most newsstands and bars. And as Italy implodes on itself, its industrial output, productivity, GDP, stock market and status as an open-all-year international trade partner all grind to a halt as the gears of 'socialistic entitlement legislation' collide with those of a modern global economy.

October 31 - Halloween - This is an Americanization of All Saints Day which falls on November 1st and seems to be gaining in popularity in the major cities that are more subject to the influence of mass media. Many Italians disagree with its manifestation but, over the last couple of years, a growing number of Italians are catching on to Halloween and declaring Carnival outdated. In a poll on www.halloweenight.it, 65% of the site’s visitors wanted to see the bewitching night made a national holiday, 29% percent intended to celebrate by partying while 11% went to clubs. The Italians that do dress their kids up and take them door-to-door to collect candy are very vague on the meaning of the day. They just know that it started in America and like the fact that it makes their kids happy.

November 1-2 - Tutti i Santi - All Saint's Day (which includes the 'Day of the Dead' (or 'Memorial Day')). In it's original form, this was the last night of the Celtic year in which the worlds of the living and the dead merged greatly increasing the powers of devils and evil spirits and allowing shadows to walk the land. The early Catholic Church, as one might imagine, disagreed with this and, through a series of merges with holidays honoring saints and calendar changes, was able to tame the holiday into it's present variation of Halloween. It's also an important religious holiday in which the Saints are celebrated with a day off work and excursions to visit family and friends (visits to the cemetery and the church are also usually on the agenda). In recent years, many Italians have begun costuming their children up for school and walks in the main piazza. Silly string usually flies everywhere mixing with the confetti that gets thrown about in joyful fits (stay out of the way of pressurized shaving cream spray). Most service and retail establishments close on the first and open on the second except in the more southern regions which have the tendency to remain shuttered for both days. The snack of the hour is always 'bones of the dead' which are available in most pastry shops and have been a mainstay of the holiday for centuries.

December 8 - Immacolata Concezione - Immaculate Conception - This is an important Catholic holiday celebrating the conception of Christ and most Italian families, whether it is their normal habit or not, go to church. While virtually all government and city services close for the day, many retail stores capitalize on the day as the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season (a lot of stores run sales and have extended hours). Forget getting around unless you have a car with a full tank (only the gas stations on the Autostrada are open). If this holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the Monday or Friday in-between is usually treated as an unofficial 'ponte' (bridge) holiday. The day before (December 7th) celebrates Sant Ambrogio (patron saint of Milan) which means that Milan automatically takes two days off, instead of one like the rest of the country.

December 25 - Natale - Christmas Day - The commemoration of the birth of Christ. The first Christmas celebration took place in Italy in the year 336, after the Emperor Constantine approved Christian worship in the Empire. The introduction of Santa Claus (affectionately deemed 'Babbo Natale' in Italian) into the Italian culture happened much more recently as the result of an overwhelmingly successful advertising campaign by the Coca Cola Company in the 1930's (according to some Italians, this is another example of how American capitalism has steamrollered Italian tradition). Here, as in many other parts of the world, the concepts of Santa Claus and commercialism are beginning to overshadow the true spiritual meaning of the holiday, but it is still considered one of the most sacred and holy holidays in Italy. For this reason, all stores, banks, public services and offices, businesses, newsstands and bars are closed. Everything, in other words, except the hearts and homes of the people who celebrate this holiday with the utmost reverence. Keep in mind that the day after is Santo Stefano and everything (except certain retail stores) remains closed just like on Christmas Day - (It's interesting that the traditional colors of Christmas - red, white and green - are the same as the Italian flag).

December 26 - Santo Stefano - Saint Stephen's Day - An important Catholic holiday that celebrates the announcement of the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the three wise men. Banks, public offices and most means of public transportation are closed on this day but, in recent years, many stores have opened up in order to handle exchanges and announce sales on unsold merchandise.

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