In Italy, the Christmas season does not end on Dec. 25. Actually, Italians begin the Christmas season on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception which is a national holiday. To prevent them from entering, fire places are kept burning throughout the entire Christmas season. The Epiphany here completes the Christmas season on Jan. 6 with Mass and religious observances in Christian churches. So, until then, it’s not too late to keep saying, “Merry Christmas !”Frank Mazzaglia can be reached at frankwrote@aol.com.

Source: Ethiopian News December 26, 2018 09:56 UTC