|
Traditional Christmas Cards
|
Italy - Feeling nostalgia for an old fashioned Christmas? These quaint and colorful cards from the '50s show a lot about Italy's not so distant past. Pastel colored angels, children, and sweet scenes contrast with today's more commercial reindeer, Santas and snowmen. Baby Jesus is often featured, but not always, and loose re-interpretation of the nativity story is common, such as in the 2nd image (below), where gifts are born by three children instead of three kings.
Where to find them? Bancarelle (literally "small benches", meaning sidewalk stalls) selling ephemera, country fairs, and flea markets, and you can even find them occasioanlly in cartolerie or stationary shops that don't just stock the contemporary styles.
|
A nice traditional way to wish family and friends "Auguri" and "Buon Natale".
|
--contributed by Mary Jane (see bio), author and founder of Elegant Etruria, www.elegantetruria.com, a window on life in central Italy.
Copyright ©2007 ItalianNotebook.com All rights reserved
