Customs and Festivals in Italian-Speaking Communities
Talk about Italian customs and festivals: learn the words for Christmas, Easter, Carnival and the Befana, and how to say what people eat, give and do to celebrate.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
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Customs and festivals
Italy has many customs and festivals through the year. You need the vocabulary for the main ones, like il Natale (Christmas) and la Pasqua (Easter), and the words for what people do, like festeggiare (to celebrate) and regalare (to give a gift). Learn each noun WITH its article, il or la, so you know its gender.
Words for festivals
Learn each noun WITH its article: il or la tells you its gender.
il or la
Every Italian festival word is masculine or feminine, and the article shows which. Learn each one with its article.
Saying it well
To say at a festival, use a: a Natale means at Christmas and a Pasqua means at Easter. To wish someone well, say Buon Natale for Merry Christmas and Buona Pasqua for Happy Easter.
Match the festival to the English
- il Natale
- la Pasqua
- il Carnevale
- la Befana
- Christmas
- Easter
- Carnival
- Epiphany, the sixth of January
Match the word to the English
- il presepe
- il panettone
- il Capodanno
- regalare
- the nativity scene
- a Christmas cake
- New Year
- to give a gift
What il Natale means in Italian
What does the word il Natale mean?
- Christmas.
- Easter.
- New Year.
- Birthday.
Which are festivals?
Select the TWO words that are festivals.
- il Carnevale.
- la Pasqua.
- il regalo.
- il presepe.
Italian keeps the article English drops
The festival words become sentences with è (is). Italian keeps the article in front of the noun, and a grade-9 answer never stops at the opinion: - Il Natale è una festa = "Christmas is a festival". Italian keeps il in front of Natale where English drops it, and è links the two halves. - Mi piace il Carnevale perché è divertente = "I like Carnival because it is fun". Mi piace is "I like", literally "it is pleasing to me". perché (because) then joins the reason, which is what lifts the mark.
Attach a reason, in Italian
A grade-9 answer attaches a reason to the opinion. Which of these does that?
- Mi piace il Carnevale perché è divertente
- Mi piace il Carnevale
- Il Natale è una festa
- Mi piace Carnevale perché è divertente
Order the year
Put the festivals in order through the year, earliest first.
- la Befana, the sixth of January
- il Carnevale, in February
- la Pasqua, in spring
- il Ferragosto, the fifteenth of August
Complete the Italian
In Italy people celebrate many festivals. At Christmas, called _____, families eat a cake called _____ and give a _____. At Easter, called _____, they eat chocolate eggs. On the sixth of January, _____ brings gifts to children.
Spot the two festivals
Tap the TWO words that are festivals.
- il Carnevale
- la Pasqua
- il regalo
- il panettone
- il presepe
Which festival?
Choose the Italian festival that matches each situation.
- Children wait for gifts on the sixth of January
- Families eat panettone and give gifts in December
- People eat chocolate eggs in spring
Write in Italian
Write three or four sentences in Italian about a festival you celebrate. Say which festival it is, when it happens, and what you do. Use festival vocabulary such as Natale, Pasqua, il regalo and festeggiare.
- Name the festival in Italian
- Say when it happens
- Say what you do, using festeggiare or regalare