Felice Natale (Merry Christmas!)

We of course will not be spending Christmas in Italy, but rather at home in California, but in the days building up to our departure we were able to witness some extremely beautiful holiday spirit. The residents of Florence for the most part don’t live in free standing buildings, therefore the existence of Christmas lights on houses is nil. However the city of Florence does an amazing job of getting into the holiday spirit, especially in the center of the city where dozens of streets are the home to amazing holiday light shows! Additionally, Piazza Republica has an outdoor carousel and a huge decorated Christmas tree. The spirit of “Natale” is alive and well here in Italy and in many ways is more authentic than that of America. It differs in its lack of a “Santa” presence and with more focus on the origin of Christmas (Each church has an elaborate nativity scene at this time of the year). Finally, perhaps the most glaring difference is the absence of the chaos of the American mall during the holidays. This is something that Anna and I speak about often, how much we love shopping at numerous small merchants, where you speak directly to the shop owner rather than a high school kid who is working a temporary job for the two weeks of winter break.