Follow Locals' Steps & simulate their Christmas Eve

A folk song lost in the mist of time says: “Mo vene Natale e nun tengo renare me fumme 'na pippa e me vaco a ccuccà” that can be translated as “Christmas is coming and I have no money, I smoke a pipe and go to bed”. It reflects the working class's miserable living conditions and the typical ironic approach to it, but Christmas has always been the Neapolitan people’s favourite holiday.

And the Christmas Eve ritual didn’t change much over the centuries!

A local expert will lead you around the narrow streets of the old town to have breakfast in a bakery: a magical place in Naples! You will be amazed by the amount of seasonal different desserts (chocolate, nuts, and spice biscuits above all) and the story behind their creation and the ingredients picked to make them.

After the sweet break, the average Neapolitan person goes to the Christmas alley to take a look at the terracotta figurines to make up the presepe, the nativity scene—our beloved tradition. If you’re wondering, yes, we make the Christmas tree, but every family must have a presepe too.
As the German traveler Fryderyk Moszyński wrote in 1784: "They consist of various rooms lined with tree bark, moss, and cork, giving a lifelike expression to the stable, the figures, and the landscape. And the scenery is recreated with such artistic skill that it becomes impossible to distinguish the artificial from the natural."

Before leaving the old town, there will be enough time to enjoy a guided visit to a hidden gem: a collection of 75 minuscule works of art made by a local artist in the 20th century. Walnuts containing incredible scenes from Dante’s Divine Comedy and Nativities set in tiny organic containers: a chestnut, a pistachio, a cherry pit to admire exclusively with a personal magnifying glass.

But Christmas Eve for locals is mostly food, and for sure, there will be a last-minute purchase before the endless dinner. That’s why their and your last stop will be the market. Visit an authentic “salumeria” (charcuterie) for a quick taste of fresh mozzarella cheese and get your ears ready for the fishmongers’ yell! Since Christmas Eve dinner is strictly fish-based, you will find all kinds of live fish, even the famous eel, trying to escape from the tank. Enjoy “Cuoppo”, fried fresh fish wrapped in a cone paper, a tasty sample of what the whole meal would be.
 

At the end of the tour, you’ll take away the most traditional Neapolitan food ever: “ciociole” or "spasso", mixed nuts. Indeed, Neapolitans like to nibble nuts and dried fruit, not only at the end of meals, but also while waiting for gifts to open, or, even better, during some Christmas games.