If the year were a human body, January 1st would be the head. That's the image from which the word comes. New Year, used in Italian to refer to New Year's Day.
The term is a combination of boss (head) and year (year), that is, "head of the year".
Although the most common use of Capodanno is for the first day of the year, many Italians also use it to refer to New Year's Eve, which is technically called new Year's Eve.
How Italians celebrate Capodanno
The celebration is usually intense. Fireworks, parties until dawn, and dinners with family or friends mark the arrival of the new year. The following day, a national holiday, most people take the opportunity to sleep in.
In some cities, there are curious traditions. In RomeFor example, some people take a dip in the Tiber River early in the morning, braving the cold.
Common expressions
During this time of year, it's common to hear questions like:
— What do you do on New Year's Day? What are you going to do on New Year's Eve?
— The Capodanno sleeps thin to mezzogiorno. (On New Year's Day I sleep until noon.)
New Year's Eve wasn't always in January.
January 1st only officially became the start of the year throughout Italy with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar. Before that, different dates were used in various regions.
In Tuscany, for example, the year began on March 25th, the date on which Christian tradition states that the angel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus.
In Venice, the new year began on March 1st, marking the arrival of spring. In parts of southern Italy, the Byzantine calendar set the beginning of the year on September 1st. In the Sardinian dialect, September is still called Cabudanni, the month that marks the start of the new agricultural cycle.
The fascist Capodanno
During Benito Mussolini's regime, the fascists attempted to impose a new "New Year" on October 29th, the date of the March on Rome in 1922.
This alternative New Year's Day was part of what was called the Fascist Era Calendar. In 1939, it got to the point where newspapers were prohibited from mentioning the real January 1st.
The attempt, like other initiatives by the regime, did not succeed. After the end of World War II, Italy returned to following the traditional calendar.
Happy New Year!
Today, as every year, Italians wish each other a happy New Year with the expression... Happy New Year!
That's what the Italianismo editorial team wishes for you! Happy New Year!
