WHAZHOT · MADE IN FLO' · ONLY IN FLO' · DISCOUNT COUPONS
sections
Booking
.
culture
.
A few things to help you remember your stay! Xmas Florentine Style
[Jane Whittle]
Christmas away from home is bound to be different even if you are in your own country. Christmas abroad is even more different and, as you may be elsewhere the following year, you should try and cram in as many new sights and impressions as possible to help remember it forever. So wipe away November blues and make the most of it! Florence, or so we like to think, is unique! Certainly the lights are nothing like as splendid as those in New York, but medieval and Renaissance Florence doesn’t really need a huge amount of glitter, when every street, every corner and every house recall the festivities of long ago, some since forgotten or transformed, while others have survived intact. Simple hanging strings of glittering lights, snow flakes and garlands illuminate the boulevards until everything is adazzle, from the trees and the facades of the great houses to the windows and the squares.
The silent candle-lit churches, the lovingly arranged Nativity scenes, the deeply religious services and concerts contrast with the gay and bustling streets outside, where every shop window offers tempting and captivating wares that are impossible to resist. By mid November the streets are brimful with Christmas atmosphere, though things only get truly frenetic in the last few days. The scent of hot roasted chestnuts (real heartwarmers on a cold winter’s day) fills the air and blends with the haunting sounds of the bagpipes played by wandering street musicians. Working Florentines suddenly realise the celebrations are upon them and frantically try and find that special present at the very last minute. All this combines to make the atmosphere even more stimulatingly festive!
One particularly interesting event, though it has nothing to do with the festivities, is the service is held on December 21st every year in the Badia Fiorentina to commemorate Ugo of Tuscany, the historic founder of Tuscany, who died in Pistoia in 1001, and is buried here in the Badia in a tomb by Mino da Fiesole (1481).
Christmas Vigils are held in many churches, with Gregorian chants in the Badia again on December 24th at 10.30pm. The homesick will find a huge Christmas tree in Piazza della Repubblica and we hope it is big enough to satisfy the one they are missing this year on their native shores! Don’t miss going to see the beautiful Nativity scenes in the churches, basilicas and of course the Cathedral and, if you are lucky enough to be in Florence on the right day you can watch the colourful procession of the traditional Florentine football teams (a few days before Christmas). Dressed in historic costume, the parade goes from Piazza San Giovanni to Piazza della Signoria.
The Florence Canoe Society organises another delightful “parade” on Christmas Eve at midday when Father Christmas travels down the River Arno by boat to offer his good wishes to all. The club organises another characteristic boat parade on December 31st, their last appearance before the New Year.
Food becomes almost a pagan rite, but more about that in our leasure section. The old-fashioned Christmases that many Italians remember are rare nowadays, when a huge log fire had to be kept alight from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day and, accompanied by roast chestnuts, nuts and oranges, stories were told by the fireside, a legacy of the country vigils of the past, along with carol singing and collecting of alms. We must admit it is easier to keep these old customs alive in country areas, where more people have fireplaces, to start with!
MORE