Today’s blog is not about a specific word or a festive food (but you can go back and check my previous post on Christmas traditional food!) but rather about things you can say during the holiday season if you are visiting Italy or have Italian family and friends and want to send your wishes.
“Tanti auguri” means “Many wishes” and it’s a one-size-fits-all sentence you can use on multiple occasions (think birthdays, festivities, pregnancy announcements) since it’s a neutral expression and does not refer to any specific situation.
“Buon Natale” is your proper “Merry Christmas”, or more precisely, “Good Christmas” and you can see this on many windows and public places during the Christmas holidays in Italy. Unlike in Canada, Winter festivities are very tightly connected to Christmas and this is true regardless of your religious beliefs.
If you’re hoping for a more neutral option, comparable to the English “Happy holidays” or “Season’s greetings”, you can opt for “Buone feste”, which does not refer directly to Christmas and, besides being more inclusive, can also be used in general to talk about all of the festive days in December and January.
When you want to address the other holidays specifically, you can use “Buon anno nuovo” [Happy New Year], “Buon Capodanno” [Happy first day of the year], “Buona epifania” [Happy January 6, when the Befana comes and visits the kids and brings small presents].
Enjoy your holidays, with good food and good company!
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