No gifts this year for one in six Italians due to the climate of sobriety determined above all by economic difficulties and worries for the future.
This is what emerges from the Coldiretti/Ixe' analysis which shows, however, that 23% fewer are giving up the traditional gift than last year, still marked by the effects of the pandemic.
Among those who unwrapped the gifts, the average expenditure was 177 euros each but many - underlines Coldiretti - were forced to divert the gift budget to face urgent expenses.
The tip of the iceberg of the difficult situation in Italy are the 3 million people who in 2022 were even forced to ask for help for food to eat,
based on data on food aid distributed with Fead funds through the Agricultural Disbursement Agency (Agea).
An unprecedented social emergency since the last post-war period - underlines Coldiretti - with the number of children under 15 needing assistance to eat which has exceeded 600 thousand, practically a fifth of the total assisted, to which must be added 337 thousand elderly above those aged 65, and 687,000 foreign migrants.
Among the new poor - continues Coldiretti - there are also those who have lost their jobs, small traders or artisans who have had to close, people employed in the informal sector who do not enjoy particular subsidies or public aid and have no savings set aside,
The vast majority of those who have been forced to resort to food aid - Coldiretti underlines - do so through the delivery of food parcels that better meet the expectations of the new poor who, out of shame, prefer this form of support rather than the consumption of free meals in charitable institutions.
Against poverty - recalls Coldiretti - solidarity has grown and has extended from voluntary organizations to businesses and individual citizens, with almost half of Italians (45%) who will participate in charity initiatives this year, according to Coldiretti/ Ixe'.
An example is the experience of suspended shopping in Campagna Amica with farmers' markets throughout Italy where it is possible to support families in difficulty on the model of the Campania custom of "
Christmas in the name of sun and spring temperatures throughout Sicily.
In Syracuse and Trapani it reaches 21 degrees.
There are those who took advantage of the favorable day to take a dip in the sea in Palermo, as in Catania and in various locations on the island.
Walks in parks, nature reserves and along the coasts of the beaches before the traditional family Christmas lunch or in restaurants especially in seaside areas and in the mountains.
Many tourists have come to the island for the Christmas holidays and are enjoying the favorable climate by visiting monuments and cities.
