The word for eve in Italian is vigilia (feminine, plural vigilie) and Christmas Eve is known as la vigilia di Natale.
Alla vigilia di Natale, gli abitanti del villaggio si recano in chiesa.
At Christmas Eve, the inhabitants of the village go to church.
Interestingly the Italians also have a specific term for the day before Christmas Eve. It is known as the antivigilia (with anti meaning before).
On Christmas Eve, practising Catholics (Cattolici) will either fast during the day or avoid eating meat to purify their bodies. Many also attend midnight Mass (la Messa di mezzanotte) after the family dinner to celebrate with their congregation.
If you’ve prepared a presepe (nativity scene) at home, this is also the right time to place Baby Jesus (Gesù Bambino) in the manger.
La Vigilia is also a very exciting time for Italian children (and children all over the world) as this is the night Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) delivers his presents!
Vigilia is not just valid for Christmas or religious festivities, but it can also be used to call the day or period before an event:
- La vigilia degli esami = the day before the exams
- La vigilia delle vacanze = the day before the holidays
Sono sempre nervoso alla vigilia degli esami.
I’m always nervous before the exams.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
