Ceppo: Christmas. Comes
from the tradition of putting a nice, big log (ceppo) on the fire on Christmas Eve. At midnight, the log would
be stoked, releasing the colorful sparks and signalling the arrival of the
gifts for the children, hidden in another room. The day after Christmas, the
ceppo’s ashes were spread in the garden or fields as an offering for a good
harvest during the coming year. During the eighteenth century, the ceppo became similar to a Christmas
tree, a wooden pyramid decorated with colored bows and sweets and gifts at its
base.
Capannuccia: Nativity scene with manger and various figures of the Christmas tradition.
Borraccina: Moss. As
the capannuccia is brought down from
the attic and set up in a place of honor in the house, children run out to the
garden to collect borraccina to use
as grass in the nativity scene. On a related note, up until 15 or so years ago,
there was a department store called Duilio 48, where Coin is currently located.
It was an important part of the city, especially for kids, thanks to the huge
toy department. During Christmas, a trip to Duilio 48 was obligatory since it
was the place to go to get the
figurines for the capannuccia.
The trip was also useful for dragging your mom to the toy department to
show her exactly what you wanted from Babbo
Natale!
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COLUMN IS INTERACTIVE What
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