In Italy we have many different traditions for la notte di Capodanno (New Year’s Eve), but there is one in particular that has always appealed to what my husband might call ‘the more destructive side of my nature’! I’m referring to the old custom of throwing broken or chipped crockery out of the window.
The symbolism behind this tradition is fairly obvious: the symbolic throwing away of bad things, or misfortune, and making a clean beginning with the birth of the new year. However, for us kids it was of course a fiesta of destruction in which we were allowed, indeed encouraged to unleash our natural tendency to break stuff. Throughout the year my mother used to save all the broken plates and cups, certainly not a difficult task in a household with four children, and la notte di Capodanno a mezzanotte (on New Year’s Eve at midnight) she would distribute the crockery between the four of us, open the back door and order us to smash it against the garden wall. It was probably the only order that we obeyed without hesitation and with immense pleasure! We were very lucky in that we lived in a detached house which had a tall wall surrounding the garden, so there was no risk of damage to people and property. The morning after, of course, we were not quite so enthusiastic to obey the order to go out and pick up tutti i cocci (all the shards).
This year it dawned on me that as I no longer live in the suburbs of a city in England I could finally revive this cherished tradition. I found a coffee cup with a broken handle (why don’t they make them stronger?) and a matching chipped saucer, one piece of ammunition for me and one for my husband Geoff. Then bearing in mind the ‘stringent’ Italian Health and Safety Regulation (ha ha!), we used our neighbor’s wall as a target. Che divertimento!
Buon Anno a tutti!
Comments:
Vince Mooney:
Salve Serena:
Speaking of “la notte di Capodanno a mezzanotte,” when I lived in northern Italy I was told that in Rome at midnight on New Year’s Day, everyone would throw things out of their windows and into the streets. Even toilets! I was warned not to go out into the streets at this time if I valued my life.
I never believed these tales. How much of this story is true? And is it only Rome where the streets are a danger?
Vince
DennisP:
Buon Giorno! I’m just starting to learn Italian because we want to visit your country next fall. We’d like to visit small towns and podere as well as some art/cultural places. Your site looks interesting and I will visit it often. I have already picked up some language tips. Grazie!
Vince Mooney:
Salve Serena:
I am curious about the word “capodanno”. Perhaps you can help me. First, how long has this capodanno tradition been going on? And, second, when it started did they use the words “capo d’anno” for many years before it became ‘capodanno”? I am interested in how words evolve in a language over the years.
Vince
Serena:
Buon Giorno Dennis! You won’t have any problem finding small beautiful towns, great countryside, and cultural cities full of wonderful art here in Italy, whichever region you visit!
I’m pleased that you find my blog useful.
A presto, Serena
Serena:
Salve Vince, I looked up in my faithful Dizionario della Lingua Italiana the word “capodanno”, and in brackets it says “alternative spelling: capo d’anno”. I would immagine that “capo d’anno” was the original form, meaning “head/top of year”.
As for the tradition of throwing things out of the windows, it is very popular in Roma and Napoli, though I’m not sure about toilets, it is probably a myth. My mother lived in Roma when she was young and that is where she learned this custom which now seems dying out and being taken over by the equally dangerous fireworks.
A presto, Serena