Auguri!

Merry Christmas!

We're leaving in a few minutes to
attend a Christmas Eve Vigil at
our friends Paula and Sandro's
house. It'll be an all Italian night,
meaning I'm going to have to walk
the walk and (most incredibly) TALK
the talk.

(The Man is giving me a month's
worth of intensive Italian language
classes for Christmas. He's getting
a new digital keyboard with
computer interface. While I struggle
over my daily homework, he'll play
Jingle Bells.)


Anyway, this evening is an all-fish night. We'll be eating the traditional Christmas Eve dinner consisting
of really good, but mostly unidentifiable sea creatures. Then, we have to stay there until midnight when
they'll break out the Prosecco and toast the birth of Christ. It always feels a bit like New Year's to me,
but I go with the flow.

At the same moment, over at the Vatican, the Pope and all the midnight mass people
will walk outside to the bigger than life-sized creche scene out front in St. Peter's Square
and place the baby Jesus in his manger crib. Here you don't see baby Jesus' in the
mangers until after midnight on Christmas Eve. Makes sense when you think about it.

Now I have to go put my Christmas makeup on my face so that I look all sparkly
for the people!

Merry, Merry Christmas to you all!
Tante Auguri!!