Italian Christmas Traditions and Customs

Italian Christmas Traditions and Customs During Christmastime, one readily observable difference between Italy and the United States, for instance, is the lack of crass commercialism that threatens to swallow up and completely secularize the holiday. For instance, instead of writing letters to Santa Claus asking for presents (or, in the digital age,  e-mailing Santa Claus), Italian children write letters to tell their parents how much they love them. The letter is normally placed under their fathers plate and read after Christmas Eve dinner has been finished. Italians have also adopted some of the  northern European traditions  as well. Nowadays, especially in northern Italy, a fair number of families decorate an evergreen tree in their home. Here are some other rituals, customs, and traditions practiced by Italians during the Christmas holidays: Ceppo: The  ceppo  is a wooden frame several feet high designed in a pyramid shape. This frame supports several tiers of shelves, often with a manger scene on the bottom followed by small gifts of fruit, candy, and presents on the shelves above. The Tree of Light, as it is also know, is entirely decorated with colored paper, gilt pinecones, and miniature colored pennants. Small candles are fastened to the tapering sides and a star or small doll is hung at the apex. Urn of Fate: An old tradition in Italy calls for each member of the family to take turns drawing a wrapped gift out of a large ornamental bowl until all the presents are distributed. Zampognari and Pifferai: In Rome and surrounding areas bagpipers and flute players, in traditional colorful costumes of sheepskin vests, knee-high breeches, white stockings and long dark cloaks, travel from their homes in the Abruzzi mountains to entertain crowds of people at religious shrines. La Befana:  Kindly old witch  who brings children toys on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6. According to the legend of la Befana, the Three Wise Men stopped at her hut to ask directions on their way to Bethlehem and to invite her to join them. She refused, and later a shepherd asked her to join him in paying respect to the Christ Child. Again she refused, and when night fell she saw a great light in the skies. La Befana thought perhaps she should have gone with the Three Wise Men, so she gathered some toys that had belonged to her own child, who had died, and ran to find the kings and the shepherd. But la Befana could not find them or the stable. Now, each year she looks for the Christ Child. Since she cannot find him, she leaves gifts for the children of Italy and pieces of coal (nowadays  carbone dolce, a rock candy that looks remarkably like coal) for the bad ones. Holiday Season: On the Italian holiday calendar December 25 isnt the only special day. Throughout December and January there are a number of religious holidays to mark the season. DECEMBER 6: La Festa di San Nicola - The festival in honor of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of shepherds, is celebrated in towns such as Pollutri with the lighting of fires under enormous cauldrons, in which  fave  (broad beans) are cooked, then eaten ceremoniously. DECEMBER 8: LImmacolata Concezione - celebration of the Immaculate Conception DECEMBER 13: La Festa di Santa Lucia - St. Lucys Day DECEMBER 24: La Vigilia di Natale - Christmas Eve DECEMBER 25: Natale - Christmas DECEMBER 26: La Festa di Santo Stefano - St. Stephens Day marks the announcement of the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the Three Wise Men DECEMBER 31: La Festa di San Silvestro - New Years Eve JANUARY 1: Il Capodanno - New Years Day JANUARY 6: La Festa dellEpifania - The Epiphany

Using the Spanish Verb Hacer

Using the Spanish Verb Hacer Hacer is one of the most versatile verbs in the Spanish language, and it is used in a wide range of expressions that youll use daily. Although it is often said to mean to make or to do, in context it can refer to almost any activity as well as the act of becoming. Except as a simple question ( ¿hace? can mean something like will that do? and  ¿quà © haces? means what are you doing? or what are you making?), hacer very seldom stands alone. It is almost always followed by a noun. Key Takeaways Although  hacer  often is translated as to make or to do, it can be used in many other ways, including time and weather expressions.The reflexive form  hacerse  can also mean to become or to turn into.Hacer  is irregular in nearly all its forms. Uses for Hacer Here are some of the most common uses of hacer: To indicate the making or creation of something: A number of translations of the verb can be used in English depending on what is being made. Vamos a hacer una pgina web. (Were going to design a web page.)Hizo una casa grande en Chicago. (He built a large house in Chicago.)Hice un libro sobre mi tà ­a. (I wrote a book about my aunt.)El rbol hace sombra. (The tree provides shade.) As a general verb meaning to do: Hacer can refer to an activity in general, or it can replace a verb used earlier. No hizo nada. (She didnt do anything.)Yo comà ­a mucho y à ©l hacà ­a el mismo. (I ate a lot and he did the same.)Haz lo que digo, no lo que hago. (Do what I say, not what I do.)Hice mal en no estudiar. (I did wrong not to study.) As part of an expression or idiom indicating an act of some kind:  ¿Quieres hacer una pregunta? (Do you want to ask a question?)El acto terrorista le hizo daà ±o a mucha gente. (The terrorist act hurt a lot of people.)Hizo pedazos el comprobante. (He tore the receipt into pieces.) In weather terms: Typically, weather terms use a third-person singular form of hacer followed by a noun. Hace frà ­o. (Its cold.)Hacà ­a viento por todas partes. (It was windy everywhere.) In time expressions: Typically, hace is followed by a period of time to indicate how long ago something happened or started. El dà ³lar cae a niveles de hace dos aà ±os. (The dollar is falling to levels of two years ago.)Este virus se descubrià ³ hace poco tiempo. (This virus was discovered a short time ago.)La tengo desde hace tres dà ­as y estoy muy contento con ella. (I have had it since three days ago and am very happy with it.) To show causation: In some cases, hacer is used similarly to the English make to indicate why sometime happened. Ella me hace feliz. (She makes me happy.)Eso me hizo sentir mal. (That made me feel bad.) To indicate the act of becoming: The reflexive form hacerse is often used to indicate change. Se hace ms feliz. (Hes becoming happier.)Me hice hindà º. (I became a Hindu.)Se hicieron amigos. (They became friends.) In various impersonal expressions: In some cases, hacer can become the equivalent of to be. Hace un dà ­a esplà ©ndido. (Its a terrific day.)Voy si hace falta. (Im going if its necessary.)Hay gente que hace carrera sin talento. (There are people who are successful without talent.) To indicate the taking of a role: The role can be deliberate or not. Hizo el papel estelar en El Barbero de Sevilla. (He had the starring role in The Barber of Seville.)Hacà ­a el tonto con perfeccià ³n. (He played the perfect fool.)Hizo como que no entendà ­a nada. (She acted as if she understood nothing.) To indicate how something seems: The reflexive form is sometimes used in this way. Piorno se hace simptico por su acento caribeà ±o. (Piorno seems friendly because of his Caribbean accent.)Las horas se hacà ­an muy largas. (The hours seemed very long.) Conjugation of Hacer Like most much-used verbs, hacers conjugation is highly irregular. Here are the conjugations of the irregular indicative forms, with irregular conjugations in boldface: Present: yo hago, tà º haces, à ©l/ella/usted hace, hay (impersonal), nosotros/nosotras hacemos, vosotros/vosotras hacà ©is, ellos/ellas/ustedes hacen. Preterite: yo hice, tà º hiciste, à ©l/ella/usted hizo, hay nosotros/nosotras hicimos, vosotros/vosotras hicisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes hicieron. Future: yo harà ©, tà º harà ©s, à ©l/ella/usted har, nosotros/nosotras haremos, vosotros/vosotras harà ©is, ellos/ellas/ustedes harn. Conditional: yo harà ­a, tà º harà ­as, à ©l/ella/usted harà ­a, nosotros/nosotras harà ­amos, vosotros/vosotras harà ­ais, ellos/ellas/ustedes harà ­an.