Florence InfernoFlorence Inferno
Florence Inferno
Symbols and places mentioned in Dan Brown’s novel Inferno, and much more about Florence
FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestYouTubeTumblrTripAdvisor
  • Home
  • The Inferno Guide & Blog
    • Book & Movie
    • Places
    • Symbols
    • Personalities
    • Works of Art
    • Dante & his Work
    • Mystery Stuff
    • Miscellany
    • Events in Florence
  • Walking Tours
    • The Florence Inferno Tour
    • Inferno Package: Hotel & Tour
    • Uffizi & Accademia Tour
    • Fiesole & the Tuscany Hills
    • Photography Workshop & Tour
    • Private Tours
  • Interesting Books
  • Audio eBook
  • Map
  • About & Contacts
 
  • Home
  • The Inferno Guide & Blog
    • Book & Movie
    • Places
    • Symbols
    • Personalities
    • Works of Art
    • Dante & his Work
    • Mystery Stuff
    • Miscellany
    • Events in Florence
  • Walking Tours
    • The Florence Inferno Tour
    • Inferno Package: Hotel & Tour
    • Uffizi & Accademia Tour
    • Fiesole & the Tuscany Hills
    • Photography Workshop & Tour
    • Private Tours
  • Interesting Books
  • Audio eBook
  • Map
  • About & Contacts

Florentine Christmas Traditions

November 30, 2015Leave a commentMiscellany

During the Christmas season many people like to spend their days out and about to escape their daily routine. However, many others prefer to stay home, perhaps following their own traditions.

In Florence, the main festivity was not traditionally held on Christmas Eve, as compared with many other regions in Italy. Mostly, Florentines preferred to spend Christmas Eve strolling around the streets of the city center to admire the richly decorated shop windows, then hopping off to church for the traditional midnight Mass.

For the Florentines, the real festivity was lunch on Christmas Day.

Viaggio nei 5 Continenti del Mondo per Conoscere i Loro Piatti Tipici by Viaggio Routard CC BY 2.0

The whole family used to gather around the fireside early Christmas morning, where a huge wooden log (the so-called ceppo) would burn, and play bingo or the Goose game while awaiting lunch.

Almost all middle class families possessed The Science of Cookery and the Art of Eating Well (La Scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene), the Italian recipe Bible by Pellegrino Artusi, printed for the first time in 1891 and closely followed the preparation of the dishes as handed down by the master. Filled with amusing anecdotes and recipes, the book is a perennial best seller in Italy and has been translated into Spanish, French, Dutch, German, English and, most recently, Portuguese.

Canapes and Tortellini Soup

However, even the most humble abode served up a capon, first used to make a good consommé in which either tortellini (ring-shaped pasta stuffed with a mix of meat or cheese) or cappelletti (ring-shaped pasta bigger than tortellini with a top that curls outward, giving them the three-cornered cap appearance) floated.

The soup was always preceded by hors d’oeuvres, the typical Tuscan canapes smothered in a capon liver and giblet paté, with the addition, on occasion, of veal spleen. The capon could be used up in a galantine or served in sauce.

Sometimes there was more than one second course. This could consist of tasty spiced pork sausage, usually cooked in a sauce, served with vegetables such as the typical Tuscan cowpeas or white beans. Those who could afford it also feasted on roasted meat, usually pieces of pork, but also spit roasted pigeons or other game.

Christmas Fruit and Dessert

Since fruit was only seasonal, there were usually apples, nuts, dried figs, and oranges.

For many, chestnuts were no longer a daily source of food, and were instead boiled and roasted to become part of the dessert, a course that also included homemade cakes and sweetmeats together with the odd ”cavalluccio” (honey cake), pieces of Sienese panforte (hard fruitcake) or Prato Cantuccini (almond biscuits). All these local products were washed down with excellent vinsanto (literally, “holy wine”) or even a glass of the local dessert wine Aleatico, a red Italian wine grape variety. It is notable for being the primary grape in the cult wine Aleatico di Portoferraio made in Isola d’Elba.

Panforte, Florence by Ellen Forsyth CC BY-SA 2.0

Another festive tradition is that of placing a bunch of grapes on the table on New Year’s Day, because, as the saying goes: ”Whoever eats grapes on New Year’s Day can count their money throughout the year.” What this really means is that those able to put aside a few grapes during harvest time and eat them on the first day of New Year will have planty of money, more than enough, for the following 365 days of the new year, perhaps because they are thrifty, one could argue.

Enjoy your Christmas meal!

Pictures: Viaggio nei 5 Continenti del Mondo per Conoscere i Loro Piatti Tipici by Viaggio Routard CC BY 2.0; Panforte, Florence by Ellen Forsyth CC BY-SA 2.0

About the author
Florence Inferno

Florence Inferno

Florence Inferno is a blog about the Florentine mysteries, symbols, and places that are mentioned in Dan Brown’s latest novel Inferno, and much more about the city. We also offer a guided Inferno walking tour, which follows the footsteps of Robert and Sienna, as well as an an eBook with an audio version.

Related posts
Origin by Dan Brown
Dan Brown’s new novel: Origin
October 14, 2017
Some Limoncellos by Larry Miller
The True Story of the Italian Liqueur Limoncello
September 5, 2016
Old wine vending window, Florence by Ieiris202
Little Wine Windows around Florence
May 30, 2016
Composition, 1955. Di Willem de Kooning [Da Kandinsky a Pollock, Palazzo Strozzi]
From Kandinsky to Pollock at Palazzo Strozzi, Florence
April 18, 2016
The original La Marzocco by Mark
The Marzocco, a Symbol of Florence
April 4, 2016
Scoppio del carro by Monica Kelly
Easter 2016: Religious and Culinary Traditions in Florence, Italy
March 21, 2016
Leave Comment

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

clear formSubmit

The Florence Inferno eBook
A Guide to Florence per Dan's Brown Inferno Discover Dan Brown's Florence on your own with our audio guide and eBook.
Read more »
Stay in Touch
Want to get our posts via email?
Blog Categories
  • Dan Brown's Inferno: Book & Movie
  • Dante and His Work
  • Events in Florence
  • Inferno's Personalities
  • Inferno's Places
  • Inferno's Symbols
  • Miscellany
  • Mystery Stuff
  • Works of Art
Blog Topics
Art Artists Baptistry Boboli Gardens Books Bridges Churches Dan Brown Dante Alighieri Districts Divine Comedy Duomo Food Geography History Hotels Inferno's Characters Interviews Istanbul Lifestyle Medici Family Movies Museums Palaces Palazzo Vecchio Parks Santa Maria Novella Sociology Squares Streets Symbology Theology Thinkers Trains Venice
Book a Tour
  • The Florence Inferno Tour
  • Inferno Package: Hotel & Tour
  • Uffizi & Accademia
  • Photo Workshop & Tour
  • Fiesole & the Tuscany Hills
  • Private Tours
  • All our Walking Tours
Search
© 2013-2018 Florence Inferno {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0} • Termetour S.r.l. Via Garibaldi 33, 51016 Montecatini Terme (Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy) • CF / P. IVA (VAT) 01426700470
Cap. soc. 12000€ I.V. • PEC termetour@pec.it • REA PT14851 Aut. N° 22806 del 14.03.2001 • Responsabilità civile degli organizzatori di viaggio (insurance)
704235585 01 SAI Fondiaria S.p.a. • Web design by Simone Montanari. Concept, SEO & web / content marketing by Pasta SEO • Email info@florenceinferno.com

Privacy Policy
Free blog counters