Christmas holidays in Friuli Venezia Giulia, a blend of sacred and secular traditions

A bizarre procession, led by an ageing saint with a long white beard and dressed in ceremonial robes. Behind him, a horde of screaming demons, illuminated by the dim lights of countless burning torches. Although reminiscent of a horror film scene, for Tarvisio and the Valcanale, this description captures an event that takes place every year on the night of 5 December: the traditional Krampusse ritual. Emitting shrill sounds, these mythical figures accompany the arrival of Saint Nicholas in the city streets.

Celebrated by enthusiastic crowds throughout the valley, the folkloric Krampusse parade is shrouded in legends that stretch back to the dawn of time. One of these narrates the plundering and raids on winter stores by gangs of youngsters who disguised themselves with animal skins and horns to avoid recognition. However, they were infiltrated by a real demonic presence, recognisable by its goat-like hooves. To rid the town of this terrifying presence, Bishop Nicholas was called, and he managed to defeat the devil.

Since then, from dusk on 5 December, the Krampusse descend from the mountain forests and overrun the streets of Tarvisio and neighbouring villages. The procession clamours and battles its way down to the valley, where a large bonfire is lit. At the end of the early-evening parade, Saint Nicholas leads the demonic procession back to the silence and darkness of the forest, only to return the following year. 

The hallmarks of the deep-rooted Christmas religious traditions in Friuli Venezia Giulia are the nativity scenes. Every year, visitors can admire wooden nativity scenes as they are crafted before their eyes; nativity scenes in sand, corn husks, straw, miniature nativity scenes and giant ones, living and mechanical nativity scenes, and even underwater nativity scenes: in Friuli Venezia Giulia, a land of remarkable craftsmanship, December is the month of imaginative creativity par excellence.

In the municipality of Forgaria, the picturesque Lake of Cornino provides the setting for an equally spectacular nativity scene, which is staged at its bottom. In Lignano Sabbiadoro beach, however, the singular nativity scene must be fashioned in sand, an ideal material for this sort of depiction and, above all, available to everyone. Ravascletto hosts a display of nativity scenes created by the descendants of the cramârs, the travelling merchants of Carnia who plied their trade in fabrics and spices between the 16th and 19th centuries as they journeyed throughout Europe during the winter months. In Sutrio, the famous Teno nativity scene can be visited all year round. It reproduces the town’s traditional customs in miniature, with scenes that come to life thanks to precise mechanical gears. Showcasing a historic sector of excellence, in Spilimbergo, the nativity scene recasts the mosaic – an artistic medium at the core of local cultural identity and the pride of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. The nativity scene figures are covered in exquisite mosaic tiles on both sides, radiating the splendour of gold and coloured glass enamels to compose a work that is unique in the world. They offer an enchanting backdrop in a prestigious urban setting, amidst the old town’s dominant medieval and Renaissance buildings.

In the municipality Ronchi dei Legionari, the hamlet of Selz hosts a nativity scene in motion, with over 300 figures animated by a single motor that drives a clock-like mechanism, without strings or wires or even springs. The Corgnolo di Porpetto nativity scene is staged outdoors between three branches of the Corgnolizza canal. Nestled between old, long-since uninhabited buildings that give it the charm of times gone by, it features live animals such as geese, ducks, chickens, sheep, donkeys, goats, and pigs. In Poffabro, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, all the niches and balconies of the houses host nativity scenes: the atmosphere becomes special at dusk, when the lights switch on and Poffabro is transformed into a "Nativity Scene among the Nativity Scenes". The natural beauty of this village blends with the architectural beauty of the traditional wood- and exposed stone-walled houses, where spacious balconies open onto the cobbled streets. Finally, in Grado, Jesus is portrayed as born in the lagoon: instead of shepherds and their huts, the scene depicts fishermen and their traditional dwellings, the "casoni".

The Mass of the Sword is a religious rite commemorating the political investiture of Marquardo von Randeck as Patriarch of Aquileia, which took place in 1366 in Cividale del Friuli. Since then, the commemorative Mass has been celebrated in this city every year on 6 January, the Epiphany. The Patriarchate of Aquileia was a vast ecclesiastical and temporal power, one of the most important in medieval Europe. Originally an exclusively religious entity, in 1077, the Patriarchate absorbed a layer of the feudal institutions of the time and evolved into a sort of ecclesiastical principality in the German style. The Mass involves the use of a sword (a copy of the one that belonged to Marquardo) with which a deacon greets the participants at various stages of the liturgy.

The Thaler Mass, on the other hand, is celebrated in Gemona del Friuli. It is a combined religious rite and civil ceremony that celebrates the city authorities' joint endeavour in pursuit of the common good. It originated in the Middle Ages, but the current name refers to the period under Habsburg rule, when the official currency was the thaler coin struck in honour of Maria Theresa of Austria. The ceremony begins at the town hall: the mayor, accompanied by a pageboy carrying the thaler and other costumed figures, goes to the cathedral and knocks on the door, which is opened by the deacon. The Mass is celebrated in Latin and Friulian, whereas the Gospel is sung according to the Aquileian Rite.

But what is "Aquileian Chant"? As you can imagine, it is the chant adopted in the liturgical tradition of the Patriarchate of Aquileia and consists of numerous popular age-old melodies. Until the last century, it was transmitted only in oral form. It includes various types of chants, the best known of which is the Missus, the Gospel passage of the Annunciation, which is still sung in many parishes in Friuli during the Christmas Novena, from 15 to 23 December.

The great choral tradition of Friuli Venezia Giulia, however, is expressed throughout the Christmas period, in particular during the traditional Nativitas festival: 150 events spread throughout the region that offer a Christmas rooted in the history and traditions of this borderland, a meeting point of diverse peoples, faiths, and stories.

Ancient rituals dating back centuries are revived On Epiphany Day. Fire takes centre stage, illuminating much of Friuli on the night of 6 January in the traditional propitiatory bonfire ritual known as the "pignarûl". The tradition, presumably evolved from an ancient Celtic ritual in honour of the god Belenus, represents the will and need to "burn" the old to make room for the new. Reinterpreted over the centuries also in a Christian form, it is still celebrated in many places with different rituals and choreographies, and with consistently strong popular participation, given the occasion for gathering and celebration: around the fire, in fact, those present exchange New Year’s greetings while sipping warm mulled wine.

Of all of them, the Epiphany of Tarcento has a special and well‑deserved reputation: organised as a true historical re‑enactment, it rekindles emotions that never truly faded. It begins with a long and intense vigil: on the evening of 5 January, the "pignarulârs", who in the previous days have prepared the stacks and pyres in the villages and on the surrounding hills, lead a festive torchlight procession that illuminates the streets of the town, ending the evening with the spectacular race of flaming chariots. On the afternoon of 6 January, however, the town centre comes alive with the historical procession of noble lords and ladies of 13th-century Friuli, representing the solemn feudal investiture of the noble Artico di Castel Porpetto by the Patriarch of Aquileia, which took place in 1290. il The story is told by the Old Venerable (il Vecchio Venerando), a figure who is both a priest and the head of the village. He invites everyone to follow him up a steep hill, torches in hand, to light the "Pignarûl Grant". Depending on the direction the smoke blows, the Old Venerable will give his predictions for the new year. Afterwards, all the other bonfires in the basin surrounding Tarcento are also lit, creating a very evocative spectacle.