IISS Mauro Perrone Castellaneta, Italy, Mr. Roberto Rocco 

Ancient Christmas Trees 

My grandmother always tells me about an ancient Apulian tradition, starting from the beginning of the twentieth century. The first Christmas trees were decorated with oranges and tangerines, embellished with silver stars, gold threads, silk or small ribbons pieces of cotton, to give the idea of ​​snow. On the branches, children found toys, gifts, candies and chocolates. After the blessing of the head of the family, they were distributed to the children. The tree was a symbol of welcome we sang, played and danced all together near the tree.Today our houses are dominated by majestic trees decorated with Christmas balls of various sizes and colors, glitter, fake snow, feathers and necklaces and chains silver or gilded not to mention the various garlands that we have throughout the house.

Edited by Asia Milano