For New Year’s Eve, we have taken inspiration from the superstitious Italians to provide you with our top tips to welcome Capodanno (the first day of the year), even if you have to stay at home.  

1. Let go of the past

Quite literally enacting the saying ‘out with the old’, the Italians throw away anything from clothes to furniture but most commonly pots and pans. For a fresh start to the year perhaps follow their example and spend one of those lazy days between Christmas and the 31st of December having a good clear out. Twist this tradition and repurpose or donate items that you are no longer in need of. 

2. Dress Up in Red

On New Year’s Eve, both Italian men and women in Italy wear red undergarments and lingerie. The colour red is supposed to bring forth good fortune, specifically love and fertility, but only if they are thrown away the day after. Dressing up always makes you feel great, so throw aside your pyjamas for an evening and wear something red if you can, even though a few family members or friends may be the only ones to see! 

3. Entertainment

Like the rest of the world, fireworks are normally set off at midnight in Italy’s main squares to ring in the new year and ward off bad spirits. This is often paired with joyous singing and dancing in the streets and music concerts in cities from the north to the south. The fireworks may have been cancelled in England this year, but nobody is stopping you from having a party in your own living room.

4. Feast in the Italian Style

Most holidays in Italy seem to be inherently rooted in food and New Year’s Eve is no exception. The Italian spread will almost always feature pork, usually cotechino (a kind of pork sausage) or more peculiarly zampone (pigs trotter) and lenticchie (lentils). The main is followed by figs and raisins, which suggest wealth, whereas eating grapes symbolises wisdom and frugal spending. Therefore, you could meticulously prepare a version of their feast or, if you enjoy cooking, spend the day concocting your own delicious menu. 

5. Toast with Pale Fox

As usual, when the clock strikes midnight, you should have a glass of prosecco in hand! For this, we think that there is only one choice of course. However, you could also spend the evening teaching yourself to make a couple of our signature prosecco cocktails, which you can find here. It is traditional to seal the countdown to twelve with a kiss and a toast to the new year by shouting out ‘buon anno!’. 

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