Jack-o-Lantern
Trick…or Treat …or Party ?
Halloween is upon us again and Florence is ready with events, parties, and even a haunted house.
Every year by mid-October we see more store windows sporting fake cobwebs and plastic pumpkins than in the previous year. Many Italian retailers are getting into the spirit (pun intended) of the holiday, albeit later than their American counterparts. Numerous theme and costume parties are now offered and there’s even a haunted house in Florence this year. Still, you’ll have to adapt certain traditions to life in Italy. Trick-or-treating door-to-door is rare, although some areas or condominiums may organize an official doling out of candies, strictly for the little ones. The massive quantities of halloween candy is not available like here in the US. Pumpkins for carving are hard to find and expensive, since the zucca grown in Italy is best suited for eating. On the positive side, Italy offers a bonus holiday on November 1, All Saints’ Day (Tutti Santi), so you can sleep off the effects of Halloween night and then celebrate with the huge traditional lunch that marks every statutory holiday in Italy. Maybe this would be a nice addition to the American ‘holiday’ calendar, providing one more day to rake up all of those glorious autumn leaves !
Did I mention in earlier posts, that late autumn is a wonderful time to experience Italy…and great value?
Journeys Viaggio 
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