Christmas in Umbria

Throughout the world Christmas festivals take on a special meaning and in Umbria we have a number of celebrations and events which are particular to the area and make the special time of year even more enjoyable with their quirky individualness.

1)Natale celebrations
Between the 21st to the 31st December the only true place to experience the pure religious experience of Christmas outside Rome is in Assisi. Here there is a month long series of liturgies, processions, carol services and bible readings. Many of these take in the well know Franciscan sites and churches.

2) Worlds Tallest Christmas Tree – Gubbio
Registered in the Guinness book of records, the Christmas tree in Gubbio is the worlds’ tallest at 900 mt. Obviously its not a real tree but a pictorial representation of the classical children’s drawing of one. It is made from over 800 light bulbs and uses more than 12 Km of electric cable laid out in a Christmas tree pattern on the slopes of Mount Ingino. This spectacular display can be seen from miles around as it lights up the night sky.

3) Li Fauni, in Norcia
the town’s celebration of its traditional heritage. During Li Fauni, which is the Festival of Bells, there is a procession throughout the village, followed by a feast of traditional dishes, including the famous spaghetti with garlic and truffles. To complete the party, there is a firework display.

4) Illumination of the Star
From the first weekend of December through to the beginning of January, the people of Terni light up a gigantic shooting star in the town centre as a commemoration of Christmas.

5) Living Presepi (Nativity Scenes)
Originally started by Saint Francis in 1223, the first were held outside a barn in the village of Greccio, not far from Assisi. Nowadays throughout Italy most villages have their own version of the living nativity but the original in Greccio remains one of the best. During December, you can also enjoy an excellent exhibition of presepi in the Duomo at Citta di Castello.

6) Umbrian Winter Jazz Festival
Orvieto plays host to the smooth silky sounds of jazz to banish those winter blues. This is held between the 30th December to the 3rd January every year. Everywhere around the village from the classical old churches, the grand piazzas, to the coffee shops and stores open themselves up to the sound of music.

7) Babbo Natale in a Canoe
Christmas Day in Citta di Castello is the setting for one of the more bizarre and truly wondrous Christmas adventures. The local canoe club turns the river Tevere into a magical place with torches and fireworks and a host of Father Christmases in brighly lit canoes paddle down the river into town to distribute presents and sweets to the children.

8) Capodanno in Perugia
New Years Celebrations. The piazzas and squares all around the old town centre of Perugia are alive with music, parades, food and ultimately a giant fireworks display to announce the start of another year.

9) Soul Christmas Festival
At venues all around Lake Trasemino there are a feast of bands, gospel choirs, orchestral recitals and groups that perform a wide variety of soul and blues musical styles over the Christmas period. From the 8th December to 5th January every year the sounds of soul fill the lakeside venues.

10) La Bafana -Epiphany - 6th January
Befana is a kind witch who was following the three wise men but got lost and now wanders the world handing out sweets and presents to children at Christmas. If you have been good she will give you a colourful stocking full of sweets but woe betide naughty children as their sack will be filled with coal, or ‘Il carbone’, a candy made from black sugar. One of the more spectacular arrivals of Bafana can be seen in Citta di Castello where she abseils down the side of the old medieval tower in old town centre.