Italy is where the Nativity scenes first became a popular tradition. Saint Francis of Assisi asked a man named Giovanni Vellita to create a scene of Mary, Joseph and their newborn child in the manger.  Saint Francis preached a mass in front of this Nativity and afterwards, all the churches in Italy followed Saint Francis' example and recreated the Nativity in their Churches every Christmas. Today, churches in Italy, hold competitions to see which Church can build the best Nativity in front of their  altar.

Unlike children in other parts of the world, Italian children do not receive presents from Santa Claus.  They receive gifts on January the 6th, - Epiphany - from a kindly, yet rather ugly, old witch named La Befana. La Befana flies around on a broomstick dropping children's gifts into shoes left out by them. However,  La Befana only leaves presents for children who have been good. If a child has been naughty she only leaves coal in their shoes.

Christmas Eve dinner consists largely of fish. There may be as many as 10 - 20 fish dishes prepared. In Rome, the traditional dish on Christmas Eve is "Capitone," a big female eel, roasted, baked or fried. In northern Italy, a traditional dish may be pork sausage packed in a pig's leg, smothered in lentils, or turkey stuffed with chestnuts.