Red underwear, a new year!

Posted from a friend of mine:

What’s with this Red Underwear anyway? I don’t know if you have been out and about much in Italian Malls and Markets but if you have, in all the “Intimo” shops or stalls you will see big displays of men’s and ladies underwear in RED. The tradition goes like this, you must wear RED underwear to see the New Year in (you have to be wearing it as the New Year comes in), and it will bring you “buona fortuna”, good luck for the coming year. Here is the catch that I didn’t know before, you have to have it given to you as a present; you can’t just go out and buy it for yourself.

Then on New Years Day you have to eat lentils because they bring money!!!!! I have eaten them on several New Years so far, and I’m still waiting for the money to arrive!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe this year, eh?

Sorry I have been here so many years that I forgot to tell you about something big that is different here. You will have noticed it already by now, but the day after Christmas is not Boxing Day and big sales do not start on that day, in fact the stores are all closed. The day after Christmas is Saint Stefano and it’s a religious holiday.

Sales are another interesting topic. By “legge”, by LAW stores were only allowed to have sales 2 times a year, around Jan 15th and around July 15th, I say around because the dates varied a little, from region to region but around those dates and the allowed dates were released in a schedule announced from Rome. The sales could last for about a month and varied from store to store in duration.

Over the last couple of years this has started to change. Sorry I don’t know if the legislation has actually changed or if the stores have just got fed up and started doing their own thing when it comes to sales. Having owned small photo stores in Canada years ago, I don’t know how small stores here were able to survive with “sales” being so controlled, it was always my experience that a store owner needs to be able to have sales whenever he wants to balance stock, help cash flow when needed etc. Whatever the law actually says now, I have noticed that stores are starting to have sales at all different times of the year just like home. Today I noticed that while most of the store sales haven’t started yet, I saw a few stores with sales going on already.

January the stores that sell such things, have big “white” sales, bedding, linen and office supplies. Over the years we have bought some lovely sheet sets (bedding), for 50% off at Coin, an upscale department store, in Vicenza on Corso Palladio.

If you have been in any of the large commercial centers you probably also saw lots of “stockings” for sale and signs about “La Befana”, you will see more right after Christmas.

La Befana is one of Italy's oldest and most celebrated legends. Each year on January 6 the children of Italy awaken in hopes that La Befana has made a visit to their house. This is a significant day to Italians because it marks the end of the Christmas season and the day that the three Wise Men arrived at the manger of the Christ child. Over the years the Epiphany (Jan 6th), has been a more celebrated holiday for the children of Italy than even Christmas.

So you see Italy is such a magical place for children that they receive gifts from not one but two mythical figures during the holiday season. First Babo Natale, (Santa Claus) and then Befana (the old witch).

If they have been bad, La Befana, which is an old lady dressed in rags and who carries a broom, brings them coal in their stocking, if they have been good they get a stocking of candy. You can see by the size of the displays that this tradition has grown and grown the last few years as well as Christmas. Many children are also given another gift as well as the traditional stocking. You will find the Fiera dell’Epifania (market), in the main piazza’s downtown from 04 to 06 of Jan.

Prepare yourself for some NOISE. Even if you wanted to go to sleep early on New Years Eve you would most likely be wasting your time. They love their “fuochi d’artificio” fireworks, and any day now you should start to hear lots of loud bangs in your neighbourhood, and all of New Years Eve, ending in big firework displays all over the place. Many people let off little displays on streets and in parks.

If you watch any Italian news you will see large displays of “illegal” fireworks confiscated by the police all over Italy but mainly in the south. These are truck loads of often simple “brown bag” fireworks in all shapes and sizes that have been smuggled into the country. I don’t know about in America but in Canada fireworks have been illegal for private use for many years, and if you watch the news the day after New Years you will see why. Each year many people loose fingers, eyes, etc and it is not uncommon to hear of a couple of deaths as well just from fireworks. So be careful. Once again you will be able to see on the news New Years morning, footage of people standing on their balconies firing off fireworks at each other just for fun. Franca always turns the news on to see what the carnage was like this year. If you have ever let off fireworks like I did as a kid, you will know that those darn fuses are so unpredictable in their burning time