Christmastime in Parma

From Christmas in Vienna to Parma…

Knowing that Italians take their religion, and therefore Christmas, much more seriously (and publicly) than the U.S., I was excited to see how Parma would decorate for the upcoming holiday. The one downside to the beginning of the Christmas season at “home”? It meant the beginning of the end of my fantastic time abroad. I knew I had to make the most of every moment, and try not to stress out about the upcoming finals per usual…

So to celebrate the season I joined the rest of the city of Parma in Piazza Garibaldi (the main square in town) one night to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree.

Parma’s beautiful Palazzo del Governatore (Governor’s Palace), built in the 17th century, at sunset

the other half of Piazza Garibaldi (across from the Palazzo del Governatore) with the Christmas tree and an “igloo” filled with little craft stands

Pretty Christmas lights adorned all the main streets–every street had a different size, color, and type of decoration!

Before the sun went down and the tree could be lit, people wandered the square and surrounding streets shopping, looking at the pretty Christmas lights, checking out the stands of knick-knacks and candies, and talking with their Parmigiani neighbors. As the sky became darker, more people filled the streets until the huge piazza was packed with people standing on top of each other. Although we did not all plan to go together, by the time the tree was about to be lit, almost all students from BC were crowded around the Christmas tree, taking pictures like tourists and listening to the adorable Italian children around us.

the soon-to-be-lit Christmas tree in the center of town (with the 13th century Palazzo del Governatore behind the tree)

Piazza Garibaldi

one of the main shopping streets in Parma off of Piazza Garibaldi

strings of lights, paper holly, and round ornaments with pictures of angels decorated the tree

After the tree was lit, a piano and chorus sang Christmas carols and we all sung along. Surprisingly, the majority of songs were in English so it was a nice touch of home in our most recent home. I love the sense of community that Parma has given us over the past 3 months.