Holiday marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Italy.
This 12 months the vacation falls on a Monday, leading to a protracted weekend and the closure of Italy’s faculties and public places of work.
One of the primary occasions related to the day in Italy is the pope’s pilgrimage to the statue of the Madonna at Piazza Mignanelli in Rome.
In a convention courting again to 1958, the pope leaves a floral wreath on the base of the Nineteenth-century Column of the Immaculate Conception close to the Spanish Steps.
Firefighters may also place a garland of flowers on the highest of the 12 metre-high statue of the Madonna.
Pope Leo XIV will venerate the statue at 16.00 on 8 December, the Vatican has confirmed, resulting in visitors restrictions within the space.
The day, referred to as L’Immacolata, can also be considered because the official begin of the Christmas purchasing season in Italy.
A widespread Roman custom related to 8 December is the illumination of the capital’s Christmas tree, in Piazza del Popolo, nevertheless no official announcement has been made but.
Rome’s mayor historically switches on the lights of the tree adopted by the Christmas lights alongside the central Via del Corso on the night of 8 December.
