Boun Natale 2024
Celebrating the birth of
Our Lord & Savior!
~ Christmas in Italy ~
Our beautiful apartment became magical with the glow of the lights on these 2 trees.
Last year, I was dreaming of having a snow flocked tree. All white works too!
All of this Christmas decor was left in the
apartment by previous missionaries. What fun to decorate our home away from home.
Every single city no matter the size has beautiful lights and decor for Christmas
Famous for inventing Stracciatella Gelato
and Bergamasca Casoncelli Pasta
The words were displayed above the stage in Italian & English
The Opera was 2 acts that were 2 hours each
Divine Gift ~ This White Stocking was in our apartment...A sign from Heaven!
We have had a tradition in our family of putting a white stocking under the tree for Jesus.
We write notes and thank Him for the gifts of the past year
and we write notes with gifts we will bring unto Him in the new year.
The nativity sets here are beautiful, handcarved and original pieces.
The Italian tradition is to put baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve.
We fed 140 missionaries and the precious family of
Presidente & Sorella Wood.
Complete with Music, Skits, the Nativity reenacted by their grandchildren.
Lots of Cookies
Ginger SnapsSugar Cookie Stars
Baby Jesus is in the manger
Christmas Market in downtown Bergamo
Ferris Wheel in the background
Carousel across the street
(See Blake's blog of when our precious family came to visit
our very best long lasting Christmas gift memories! )
Musical Choir and Symphonic Orchestral Preformance
Gift Tickets from a friend in our Bergamo Church Congregation
She is singing in the concert. She has a beautiful beautiful voice.
Christmas carols were sung in Italian, Spanish, German, African and English.
Outside the Concert Hall
Christmas Eve Dinner
A Night to always remember
Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary in the oven
The fireplace stoked with a fire to warm the kitchen and dining area.
A toast with Sanbitters Soda
She's wonderful and warm and friendly
However, I am still learning about this Soda...
A wonderful large family table! We felt welcome!
Polenta with Cheese
Automatic Stiring machine
Delicious! I love this!
It reminds me of my young holiday memories
at my Italian Grandma's table served with Ravioli.
Chicken (capone) served with neck and head
A rooster that has been neutered and has grown larger than a chicken.
The size of this bird is comparable to a 12 pound Turkey
It was delicious but has a very different texture than American stuffing.
It was made with breadcrumbs and pieces of the organs of the bird.
Our First Panettone!
Our First Pandoro!
Christmas Day Dinner with 8 young missionaries
They were playing Jenga and Uno
They called their families using our computers and internet.
Holiday Greeting of Buone Feste are everywhere
The people are more warm and friendly!
Our trip around Lago di Iseo
We watched the sunset and drove through several little towns to see the lights
As you can imagine, Blake has an awesome time driving through
tunnels and over mountain bridges. He marvels at the craftmanship of these roads.
It was a breathtaking trip in different ways for me.
New Year's Eve was amazing!
A few good movies, popcorn, lemon soda and my favorite guy!
The Fireworks started randomly around 6 pm all around us.
We live on the 4th floor (5th floor in Italy because they have a 0 floor)
So, I was hoping back and forth to see off each balcony all through the night.
At about 10 minutes before midnight the Fireworks
became steady and started going off everywhere.
Out our bedrooms we could see them going off in every city around us
and even up in the little mountain cities.
The Fireworks lasted for a solid hour!
And then they continued randomly till about 2 am.
I felt like the celebration was going on in my heart too!
We love Italy! I am excited to see that again next year!
Please come join us! You gotta experience the holidays in Italy!
