At Christmas in Italy you're more likely to see traditional presepi than flashing Homer Simpsons.
Christmas in Italy is still, thankfully, less tacky and commercialised than it is in the UK. For a start, the run-up to Christmas doesn't start too early - which means that you're not fed up with it by early December. And then there are the decorations, which tend to be discreet and tasteful. While people in Britain are covering their houses with gaudy flashing lights, giant Santas (often with sleighs and reindeer), blow up snowmen and grinning Homer Simpsons - Italians seem content with a tree and most important of all, a presepe - a crib or manger scene. You'll find these presepi at all the Italian Christmas markets - particularly the one in Naples. Every home will have their own presepe, which they bring out every Christmas and to which they add a new item or character each year. Of course this has become a business, with an incredible variety of goods available - I've even seen a presepe complete with a pizza oven - but at least it retains the essence of the Christmas story.
Shops may also have their own presepe, which they place in the window or just outside. In London they'd be vandalised or stolen in minutes (a house near me used to put a crib in their garden each year, but they stopped after I saw a plaintive notice saying 'Could whoever has stolen the baby Jesus please return him'.
The Italian Christmas dinner also retains its traditional regional variations, while Epiphany, the 6th January, is another special date in the Italian calender - it's when they celebrate the arrival of the three Wise Men. In Britain it's when everyone decides to give up drinking for a while.
