Why do Italians decorate the tree on December 8?
L’8 dicembre e l’albero di Natale in Italia
A1 Italian listening practice · Standard Italian · Picked for people who know a little
Ask an Italian when the Christmas season starts and most will answer with a date, not a feeling: l'8 dicembre. It is a public holiday (the Immacolata, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception) and by tradition the day families put up the albero di Natale and the presepe. Saying “facciamo l’albero l'8 dicembre” instantly marks you as someone who knows how the Italian calendar actually feels.
The custom is fairly recent — it spread from the late 1800s, with Queen Margherita credited for popularising the royal tree. Regions vary: Milan jumps the gun on 7 December for its patron Sant’Ambrogio, and Bari decorates on 6 December for San Nicola. Note the date is read l’otto dicembre, with the article — Italian dates take il/l' before the number.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.