An all-Florentine tradition already documented from the 900th century and continued at least until the dawn of the XNUMXs which the Chapter of the Florence Cathedral has taken over for several years. We are talking about the "Ceppo", ancestor of the Christmas tree, which families used to prepare on Christmas Eve.
It is a curious pyramid-shaped object crossed by some shelves, adorned with pine cones, tassels, lace, colored paper and candles. The lowest shelf was intended to accommodate the "little hut", while gifts for the children were carefully arranged on the upper ones. These anxiously awaited the sound of the bell which announced, at the end of the dinner, the entry of the stump, which was placed in the center of the table.

Before the delivery of the presents, the children had to recite a Christmas poem, such as:

Hail Mary of the Ceppo
Blessed angel!
The Angel answered me:
Stump my beautiful
Bring me lots of things!

The Ceppo will also be on display this year in the historic headquarters of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Florence, adjacent to Piazza del Duomo, precisely in Piazza del Chapter, starting from 2 December 2022 and will follow the following times:

Tuesday and Thursday
from 9.00 13.00 to and from the 14.30 17.30

Wednesday and Friday
from 9.00 am to 13.00 pm

It is possible to visit the seat of the Cathedral Chapter by booking at the following address: Biblioteca@duomofirenze.it