In the 18th century visitors quite often selected to move toward to Rome at christmas. Their stay usually lasted for many weeks and as its initial part coincided with a few of the most sumptuous religious ceremonies, its last one was dedicated to more lay matters as the year end celebrations were followed by the then celebrated Roman Carnival.
Every year a very tall xmas tree is erected in Piazza S. Pietro : it is located near the obelisk and every year it is donated by a another nation. One more tree is erected in Piazza Venezia, which is generally considered the center of Rome ; trees appear in a few of the other historic squares. The dark green of the trees vainly fights to transport a sense of freezing winters and snow-white landscapes. Marbles, travertine, palms, pines and a bright sunlight all conjure up a warmer Mediterranean ambiance. One then understands why these trees don't belong to the Italian conventional way of celebrating christmas.

The 1st crib ( It. Presepio ) is believed to have been prepared by St. Francis in the 1223 Christmas' night in the monastery of Greccio, a very small town in Central Italy. The re-enactment of episodes of Jesus' life wasn't new as scenes of Christ's Passion were before now part of the ceremonies of the Holy Week. Cribs became very popular and in the next centuries the manufacturing of the statues and of the scenery elements became a type of minor art. Most of the churches of Rome have very intricate cribs which are displayed in the weeks before xmas. To keep living the custom in less official strategies in some churches scouts are invited to make and exhibit their individual crib.

in the past, Italian kids were given candy and toys for the Epiphany in a re-enactment of the gifts brought to Jesus by the Magi : according to a common tradition Befana, an old fairy having the side of a hag, fills the socks that kids left close to the fire with toys and candy. Today in a good number families gifts including those to children are exchanged at xmas, but still a sock of candies is usually given at the Epiphany. Bad boys could find pieces of black coal instead, but they shortly realize they're made of sugar.
until the 1950s a puppet theatre with the traditional characters of the Italian comedy was a toy very treasured by most lads and lasses. Nowadays the bulk of the puppets basically sold portray TV and movie icons.

At christmas the sun doesn't get high enough to permit taking footage in the small streets of central Rome, but some pictures in the archaeological areas get an extra interest from the extended shadows projected by the monuments. You can spot the shade of Colonna Traiana projected on the buildings at the back it. Maybe you can see it from the Appartments Rom.
In the early hours in the sunrise it may be critical to wear a hat and a scarf, but in the daytime, the sunshine may increase the temperature to 15C/60F and it is warm enough for some unplanned vegetation to put down roots next to the travertine flowers of Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. Start you Rome journey from an Appartment Rom which you can book at Oh-Holidays.