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CurrClick’s Big Italian Giveaway: Closed!

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Buon Natale is Merry Christmas in Italian

Christmas is a very religious time in Italy.

Italians fast for 24 hours before eating a meatless, seven fishes dinner on Christmas eve, followed by a midnight mass.

Christmas in Italy is celebrated December 24 – January 6, or Christmas Eve through Epiphany. Gifts are given on Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas when the 3 Wise Men gave Baby Jesus their gifts. In Italy, children believe presents are brought by La Befana, a witch who flies from house to house on her broomstick.

The Legend of La Befana

A woman was busily sweeping her house when the Three Wise Men came to her door. They said they were seeking the new King who was born in Bethlehem. When they asked her to show them the way, she replied that she was much too busy. Later, she felt sorry that she had not helped the Wise Men, so she set out after them. She searched and searched, but she never found them. Because La Befana felt so bad, she continues to travel throughout the country at Christmas time, searching for the Christ Child.

Italian children believe they get a visit from La Befana, a kind but ugly witch. She is dressed in a long black coat with a black scarf tied around her head. She brings gifts to each child on January 6th, which is the Epiphany (feast of the Wise Men). They believe that La Befana flies from house to house on a broomstick, slides down the chimney and fills the stockings of the good children with gifts, but leaves a lump of coal for the bad children.

Christmas decorations and trees are becoming more popular in Italy. The main focus of decorations continues to be the “presepe” or Nativity scene.

Children do not send letters to Santa, instead, they write letters to their parents to express their love. The letters are read after Christmas Eve dinner.

“The very roots of our modern Christmas were born in Italy. Christmas, the Feast of the Nativity, was decreed by Emperor Aurelian in A.D. 274 to take place on December 25th of each year. Although many biblical historians believe that the actually birth of Jesus took place some time in the Spring, early Roman Christian’s felt it important to create a feast day that coincided with the many pagan celebrations had always taken place during the winter solstice. The celebration of the birth of the sun soon became the celebration of the birth of the Son. The nativity scene, a popular symbol of Christmas throughout the world, also has its roots in early Italian history. The first nativity scene, the presepio, was created by artist Giovanni Vellita in the village of Greccio in the year 1224. The piece was created at the request of none other than St. Francis Of Assisi. The presepio quickly became embraced as a holy symbol of Christmas when St. Francis said mass in front of Vellita’s creation the first time.” -Faith Harper ¹

Traditional Dishes From Italy…
SPUMETTI (Chocolate-Hazelnut Meringues)

1 lb. hazelnut meats, coarsely chopped
1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
1 oz. cocoa (2tbls.)
2 tsps. cinnamon
5-6 egg whites

Preheat oven to 325 F. Cut baking pan liner paper or brown paper to fit 2 baking sheets and grease lightly. Put hazelnuts, confectioner’s sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon in a large bowl; add egg whites and mix well until mixture is well blended–about 5 minutes. Wet hands with water and break off small pieces of mixture (about 1 tbl.) and shape into round balls. Place on baking sheets, 1 inch apart, and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Makes approx. 3 ½ dozen.

“ZUCCHINE IN AGRODOLCE” (Sweet and Sour Zucchini)

3 tbls. olive oil
4 med. zucchini, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbl. vinegar
¼ cup water
Salt and pepper
3 tbls. pine nuts

In a large skillet, heat oil and sauté garlic for 2 minutes. Add zucchini and sauté on both sides until golden. Sprinkle with pine nuts, raisins, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 3 minutes. Mix vinegar with water and pour into skillet; cover and simmer slowly until zucchini is tender–about 10 minutes. Discard garlic; cool and serve at room temperature.

“STRUFFOLI” (Honey Balls)

2 cups water
1 cup margarine
4 cups sifted flour
¼ tsp. salt
10 large eggs
16 oz. honey
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup candied orange peels
½ cup (multicolored) cake-decorating sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two baking sheets lightly. Have eggs at room temperature. Place water, margarine, and salt in a saucepan and bring to broil. Remove from range and cool for 3 minutes. Stir in flour and mix well. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan–about 1 minute. Remove from range and cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs to mixture, one at a time, beating hard for approximately 1 minute after each addition. Fill pastry bag with batter and pipe small rounds (the size of marbles) 1 inch apart onto baking sheets. (Or you can drop by half teaspoons onto baking sheets.) Bake until lightly browned–about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. In a saucepan, heat honey until it comes to rolling boil. Boil for 5 minutes, being careful not to let it boil over. Dip puffs, approximately 12 at a time, into honey and roll around to coat evenly. Remove with slotted spoon onto a plate. Continue until all puffs are dipped. Wet hands with cold water and stick puffs together forming wreath rings, pyramids, or dome shapes. Decorate with toasted pine nuts, candied orange peel, and cake-decorating sprinkles.

Build a nativity scene online – http://www.whychristmas.com/fun/buildanativity.shtml

Prizes include:

Christmas Copywork by Lilliput Station
Let your child learn the true story of Christmas as they practice their writing skills. This file contains fourteen different copywork pages with verses from the KJV Bible and one with a verse from a hymn. Each page is illustrated with black and white drawings and comes with both primary and straight lines.

Italy by Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
The folktale recounted in this unit is titled Three Lost Princesses. It is illustrated with charming line art that will help hold your students’ attention, as they begin their education in Italian culture and family life. Complete follow up instructions and suggestions bring Italian clothing and food, as well as Italian vocabulary, to the forefront and help students produce their own picture book of the story. Cut-out characters and a story mat are included.This unit also helps children learn by making Carnevale masks, horns and streamers, as well as mosaics.

Italy Unit Study by Homeschool Learning Network
Where is Italy? What is this history of this country? Italy spawned one of the greatest empires in history, but it’s history begins long before the rise of Rome. Italy is home to Vatican and has been home to some of the greatest artists in history. Join HLN as we look at this Mediterranean country. Lesson Plans Include: Italian Vocabulary Review, Find That Masterpiece! Web Hunt, Saving the World, Viaggo in Italia!, A Trip to Rome!,
Eat, Drink and be Roman!, Touring Italy, Where in Europe is Italy?

Our Global Village – Italy by Milliken
Bring the world a little closer with these multicultural books. An excellent way for students to appreciate and learn cultural diversity in an exciting hands-on format. Each book explores the history, language, holidays, festivals, customs, legends, foods, creative arts, lifestyles, and games of the title country. A creative alternative to student research reports and a time-saver for teachers since the activities and resource material are contained in one book.

Leonardo da Vinci Super Pack by Creative Learning Connection
Leonardo da Vinci lived at a time when people did not specialize in a particular area, like we tend to do today, and his life showed that trend clearly. This super bundle of 5 unit studies and lapbooks will introduce you to this incredible “Renaissance man”.

Congrats to Kimberly:

“My husband is Italian, and when we first got married 5 yrs ago we celebrated by having all the italian goodies. What a great treat for my children…. now we always include this in our traditions.“

All winners are chosen randomly and without bias.

Christmas Around the World with CurrClick has partnered with myself and nine other homeschool bloggers this week. Each one of us will be giving goodies away during our bloggy event so be sure to check the schedule and stop by each site to learn about Christmas in other countries, enter the giveaways and maybe even make some new friends!