Christmas in Naples - What to See and What to Eat Among Shepherds and Traditional Dishes

Experiencing Christmas in Naples is taking part in something unique because here the sacred and the profane, faith and superstition, history and innovation, celebration and desecration come together, an explosive mix that is difficult to disentangle, but which pervades colors and smells.

For the Neapolitan, Christmas is a personal thing, to be celebrated faithful to Catholicism by going to church at midnight on December 24th, but only after having preceded it with a sumptuous dinner with traditional dishes, which will then be finished digesting for New Year's Eve.

The Neapolitan rigidly venerates the Holy Family and the Nativity, but on his nativity scene he is ready to desecrate this scene by combining the traditional shepherds representing the figures of the Family of Nazareth with other statuettes of the characters of the moment such as Queen Elizabeth, Charles of England, Messi or Ronaldo CR7, Chiara Ferragni with Fedez, without ever forgetting the superstitious sleeping shepherd Benito and his absolute Saint... Maradona!!

The nativity scene art of the workshops in Via San Gregorio Armeno is one of the highest expressions of Neapolitan craftsmanship, with masters who have been creating beautiful statuettes for thousands of years, meticulously taking care of the chiseling of the ceramic faces of the shepherds and of the clothes, using rags if they are popular characters or thirst of San Leucio if they are rich or "prestigious" characters like Giuseppe or Maria. Each character is a true work of art which, placed on the nativity scenes, also handcrafted and beautiful, recreate the nativity scene, but translated into an irreverent popular Naples of the 16th or 17th century.

For the Neapolitan, a walk to San Gregorio Armeno during the Christmas period is inevitable, either to purchase the missing shepherd to add to the collection, or to replace one that broke the previous Christmas, or to purchase the one that Edoardo De Filippo, in his famous comedy, he called the "enteroclismo" or rather the pump to make water flow from the waterfall or the inevitable fountain.

 

The immaculate traditional characters on the Neapolitan Nativity scene are: Benino , the shepherd lying down, sleeping, apparently doing nothing, who, dreaming of the same nativity scene, receives the announcement of the birth of the Baby Jesus from the angels. The washerwomen who hang out the white clothes as a sign of virginity of Mary and who rush to help the Madonna at the moment of childbirth. The vintner Cicci Bacco : depicted sitting on a barrel driving a cart. Zi' Vicienzo and zi' Pascale who represent Carnival and Death respectively and to ask for the numbers to play the Lotto. The hunter and the fisherman who represent the cycle of life (the hunter is death and the fisherman is life), The Shepherd of Wonder, the Gypsy, the Butcher, the Baker, the Shoemaker and others   more clearly the 3 Wise Men and the Angels .

San Gregorio is, therefore, an obligatory stop, not only for Neapolitans, but also for tourists in Naples during the Christmas period (but also in the rest of the year), as it is obligatory to visit the historical nativity scenes scattered throughout the city. Among the largest is that of the San Martino Museum, a "presepio" (called Neapolitan style) of inestimable value for its beauty, care, grandeur, historicity. Also absolutely worth seeing are the nativity scenes housed in the Royal Palace of Capodimonte, the Banco di Napoli Nativity scene at the Royal Palace, and the Royal Nativity scene in the Royal Palace of Caserta.

 

After the nativity scene, an absolute must in Naples is a typical Christmas dinner or lunch. Real sumptuous marathons with endless parades of delicious foods, all absolutely linked to tradition. Among the must-haves, starting with the appetizer, we find " Insalata di Riforzo " (the name says it all!), a cold dish based on cabbage, olives, anchovies, pickled peppers and lots of oil. Continuing there is the fried cod and capitone , the Scarole pizza or, the new entry, fried pizza with ricotta and cicoli (cured meats). Once the appetizers are finished, we continue with the traditional spaghetti with clams or ziti (candles) broken up with Neapolitan ragù (tomato sauce with mixed meats and "pappuliato" meatballs for at least 8 hours). Continuing with the second courses we find the " minestra maritata ", a soup based on mixed meats (chicken, beef, pork) cooked in broth together with various wild wild vegetables and broth, or stuffed chicken , or a healthier baked fish (clearly at least oceanic in size).

If all this wasn't enough there are still desserts: first and foremost the Pastiera , then there's Mostaccioli Napoletani (spiced biscuits), the legendary Roccocò (dry biscuits with almonds to be sponged in limoncello or citrus), Struffoli (balls of pastry with honey) and Sicilian Cassatine (filled with ricotta). But then, after 10 minutes, between one tombolata and another, there is space for dried fruit, dried figs and priest's chestnuts (chestnuts dried by smoking).

 

What to say? Christmas in Naples is the Christmas of opulence, of true and simple joy, of fullness (in every sense and for all the senses), to be experienced to the full, wandering through the alleys and squares, mingling among the people, dancing on the street, getting an excellent coffee and leaving a paid one (as per tradition in Naples for those who can't afford it), but above all enjoying a real lunch or a real traditional Christmas dinner, with only one prescription, however, and that is, do a preparatory diet a week before coming and then, once you leave, absolutely avoid having blood tests at least until February.

 

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