Life in Italy vs. Life in the United States: Holidays

As in America, Holidays are celebrated traditionally in Italy. Each holiday comes with it's own customs and traditions in Italy as in the United States. My home stay family and I both shared similarities in some of the holidays we celebrated, particularly Christmas and Easter. One observation I made around these holidays is that they lacked commercialism in Italy, whereas in America Christian holidays are profusely used as marketing ploys. We discussed some of our holiday traditions we didn't share, such as prolonged and weeklong celebrations, but we also discovered traditions that were universal, such as the big family dinners and Santa Claus (or Babbo Natale, as he's known in Italy.) As we figured out holidays we realized that there were many we didn't have in common. The Italians had no reason to celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving, as they had no relevance to their culture. In Italy they celebrate far more holidays relating to Christian Saints and Deities. They also celebrate similar vacations to us. Christmas is observed for 2-3 weeks, as in America. However, summer vacation only lasts one month in Italy versus 2 months in the United States. There are many ways that holidays are both a observation of different cultures, as well as an influence for others.

Rome at Christmas Time (Courtesy of Wikimedia)