Holidays in Italy

Holidays in Italy

It would seem hardly possible, but Caligula once said that Italy celebrates about 200 holidays per year, and taking into account the daily life of the Roman Empire this figure was amounted to 93 days of national holidays. It is not surprising that even today the Italians celebrate all traditional festivals as they once were conceived.

Nevertheless, some of these holidays are actually considered as the most prominent holidays in Italy and are celebrated as public holidays. Many of these Italian festivals come from the Christian faith, other holidays have their roots in the history of Italy and some of them, in fact, far more ancient, arising long before Christianity. Nevertheless, all Italian holidays have one common feature. On these days the Italians do not usually work. This is true in some cases also for services in the country. So it is important to know when the holidays are celebrated and what Italian food and hardware stores, boutiques and markets, restaurants and cafes are opened or closed on these days.

Year in Italy usually begins with the celebration of the New Year, in Italian Capodanno. Already on January 6 they celebrate the day of the three Magi kings, also known as Epiphany. Pasqua is a celebration of Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. Good Friday is not a holiday in Italy, but May 1 – the Labor Day in Italian is Festa Lavoratori. After June 2 following the Republic Day, more precisely, the Republic Formation Day, June 29 comes a church holiday La Solennita Santi Pietro Paolo, and Day of the Assumption is celebrated in Italy on 15 August and is a public holiday. Ognissanti, All Saints' Day is celebrated as in Germany on November 1. In this case, December will make you happy from the 8th day, the Day of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Natale is celebrated on December 25 and the 26th of December is the St Stephen's Day. And it is worth mentioning that for the Italians these days are public holidays. It goes without saying that the celebration of other regional events such as celebrations of Carnival in Venice or the Palio in Siena is also important. Nevertheless, these days fall into another category, even if on this day in this area sometimes everything is closed.