In my last post, I gave you a list of American holidays that aren’t celebrated in Italy, and this time I’m here to do the opposite. This can be useful if you are in Italy and wondering why the bus doesn’t run on a certain day or whether you need to plan to visit your in-laws for a big meal!
While Italy, like the U.S., has a lot of patriotic and historically linked holidays, most Italian towns have a special holiday honoring their city’s patron saint as well. These holidays are individual to the city, so I won’t list them here, but if you want to really get to know all the Italian holidays you can celebrate, it’s worth looking up the patron saint of your town to see when and if you get a day off work to honor them!
Now, without further ado, here is a list of public Italian holidays that we don’t celebrate in America.
Date | Festa (ITA) | Holiday (ENG) | Explanation |
---|---|---|---|
January 6 | La Festa dell’Epifania/La Befana | Epiphany/La Befana | Epiphany is the day that the three wise men visited Jesus after his birth. This day is also known as Befana, when a witch comes to visit children and give them presents (more on that here). |
March or April (varies) | Pasquetta | Easter Monday | This isn’t always a day that is celebrated in the U.S., but in Italy, the day after Easter means another day off work and a meal with the family. |
April 25 | Il Giorno della Liberazione | Liberation Day | This Italian holiday celebrates the victory of the Italian resistance over Nazi forces and sympathizers during World War II. |
May 1 | La Festa dei Lavoratori | International Worker’s Day | Just like America’s labor day, but in Italian! |
June 2 | Festa della Repubblica | Republic Day | This day celebrates the start of the Italian republic and the end of Italy’s monarchy, a choice made by the people via a historic vote. |
August 15 | Ferragosto | Ferragosto | Ferragosto is a summer holiday in which first celebrated workers, but then was changed by the Church to celebrate the Assumption of Mary. It’s technically just one day, but most Italians take at least a week off for a vacation (here’s a more in-depth look at Ferragosto if you want to learn more). |
November 1 | Tutti i Santi (Ognissanti) | All Saints’ Day | This is the holiday that most Italians celebrate instead of Halloween. It takes place the day after, and is a day spent honoring the saints, as well as the loved ones who have been lost over the years. |
December 8 | Immacolata Concezione | Immaculate Conception Day | A day that celebrates the immaculate conception of Mary, Jesus’ mother. This is usually also the day when everyone puts up their tree and decorates for Christmas. |
December 26 | Santo Stefano | St. Stephen’s Day | The day after Christmas is also a day for celebrating with a nice meal to honor St. Stephen. |
Do you have any favorite Italian holidays that we don’t celebrate in the States? Let us know in the comments!
Thnx