Advertisement

Italian Word of The Day Supported by: Fluente logo For Members

Italian expression of the day: 'San Silvestro'

The Local Italy
The Local Italy - [email protected]
Italian expression of the day: 'San Silvestro'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

If you thought today was New Year's Eve in Italy, think again.

Advertisement

While English speakers refer to December 31st as the night before the new year begins, in Italy the occasion goes by another name: San Silvestro.

Little is known of Saint Sylvester himself, beyond that he was born in what is now Campania, and died the pope on December 31st. As saints go he's not one of the biggest, but the timing of his feast day means he's given his name to the year's biggest party in Catholic countries including Italy.

Nowadays not many Italians will be thinking of old Sylvester as they crack open the Prosecco tonight, but they'll almost certainly mention him a few times.

Cosa fai per San Silvestro?
What are you doing for New Year's Eve?

A few of the traditions include eating lentils, playing tombola (a kind of bingo), giving and wearing red underwear for luck, and chucking your junk out the window in preparation for new beginnings.

As national treasure Totò says in New Year's Eve comedy The Passionate Thief:

- San Silvestro, roba vecchia, defenestro!
- On New Year's Eve, out the window old stuff must leave!

There are a few more familiar traditions too, including New Year's Eve parties (veglioni di Capodanno), fireworks (fuochi d'artificio), counting down to midnight (fare il conto alla rovescia) and toasting (brindare) with Prosecco when it arrives.

Grab a bunch of grapes with your other hand, though: superstition has it that eating 12 grapes, one for each strike of the clock and month of the year, will bring you good luck.

Advertisement

Once you've swallowed those, it's time to wish those you're celebrating with all the best: you can say felice anno nuovo (happy New Year), buon anno, or buon 2024 (that's due-mila-venti-quattro).

Do you have an Italian word you'd like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

Make sure you don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day: download our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also