Leopardi wouldn’t know what to say

The flowers the damsel carries with her in the poem, would wither hopelessly if they had to wait two months before being displayed

"The Village Saturday" by poet Giacomo Leopardi is a very famous italian poem, in which the anticipation of the holiday is described as the best moment, the one to savor, to enjoy, and the one ultimately worth living to the fullest.

It came to mind at the supermarket on October 23rd, noticing how the Halloween decorations had already disappeared, well before the holiday itself, to make way for a vast display of Christmas decorations.

That same week, I received promotions for two Advent calendars, in mid-October...

Now, as much as I'm a huge Christmas lover and have been decorating and planning presents since the end of summer, I feel like we've gone a bit too far.

The flowers the damsel carries with her in the poem, would wither hopelessly if they had to wait two months before being displayed and the only reasonable reason to think about decorations so far in advance is if you plan on buying from artisans and creators with long delivery times.

Leopardi was from Recanati, where my aunt lives, and who knows if they were waiting for San Vito, or some other celebration related to the agricultural world? He would probably now be shocked by the fact that the wait is so prolonged that there's almost no sense of the holiday itself.

I have the impression that this rush to live, rather than prolonging the magic of the day, is increasingly draining it of what little meaning remains.

If November 1st is already time for Christmas decorations, I can imagine that by December 31st I'll already be filling the still-frosted garden with bunnies and eggs?

I must say that I live in a country where the Christmas lights stay up until April, because it's dark and it's beautiful to see them twinkle like little hopes, so I will probably keep then until end of march.

Meanwhile, Halloween has passed, I haven't decorated for Christmas yet, and autumn is cold. I think I'll make passatelli with Emanuela's recipe; Leopardi certainly loved them too.