A different tour of Rome. Civis Romanus sum

Vi auguro un Buon Natale, sperando che i vostri sogni si avverino. I wish you a Merry Christmas, and I hope all your dreams will come true. So, it's Christmas time and here is a story about it. The origin of the festivity of this day it's been very talked-about. At the end of the III century Christmas was celebrate in differents dates: March 28, April 18, May 29 or January 6. It seems to be sure that in Rome this festivity was honuored the December 25 since the IV century, under the pontificate of Pope Liberio, but just with Giulio II this became the official date. For the choise of this day had a lot of importance the civil calendar of Romans: infact in this date there was (for this calendar) the winter solstice also called "Dies natalis solis invicti" (Natale del Sole Invitto, Birth of the invincible Sun). Christians wanted to overlap to this pagan day of the Sun the birth of the real sun, Christ, that was called Sole di Giustizia (Sun of Justice). The tradition of the mistletoe derives from a Celtic usance: infact it was considered as gift of the gods, because it had no roots and it grew as a parasite on a branch of another plant. A legend tells that it could be found in a place where a thunderbolt was fallen (it's a symbol of a descent of a divinity and so of immortality). So this divine nature of the mistleoe, inspired christians and it became a symbol of Jesus: like this plant is a guest of a tree, so Christ is a guest of the humanity. Buon Natale. Merry Christmas. For more, post me. Dblk

Rome is a city full of superstitions and legends as you can see reading this blog. Some derives from the religious faith others from the popular one. Here are some of them. If you see a priest or a white horse when you are just got out from your house, it takes a lot of luck and, especially if you see a hunch-backed with two humps, everything in your day will be fine (moreover you have to touch the hump of him); but if he has just one hump you will be unlucky. To avoid the plight you have to make the horns with your hand (in particular with the forefinger and the little finger). If you want to be lucky, you have just to put a nut or a hazelnut or a chestnut in your pockets; instead if you want to take a little bit of fortune in your house just try to find a lizard with three tails (but it's very difficult to discover one of them) and take it alive in your habitation; another tradition to become lucky is to put a shoe (especially if you find one of them in the street) behind the door. A last thing: once you hear the Ave Maria (it's a ring of the bell of a church that remembers to pray at 6:00 pm) don't sweep because if you do it with the dust you will erase the fortune too. For more, post me. Dblk