Saint Ambrose and the Oh Bej! Oh Bej! fair (Milan)
7 December 2026 — Oh bej! Oh bej! Warm chestnuts and little bells for Saint Ambrose!
On 7 December Milan honours its patron, Saint Ambrose (Ambrogio), the city's fourth-century bishop. The date is linked to the day he was consecrated bishop in 374. It is the city's most important local holiday. The traditional fair known as „Oh Bej! Oh Bej!“ is held around Castello Sforzesco (historically it took place by the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio), a name tied to an exclamation usually rendered as „Oh, how lovely!“. Stalls sell sweets, roasted chestnuts, toys and handmade crafts, and Milanese families stroll through the centre. The same evening the opera season opens at La Scala, a much-loved civic tradition. The holiday falls a couple of weeks before the winter solstice and marks the start of the Christmas season, when the nights are among the longest of the year and the city glows with lights and garlands.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver figure made of bright dots and fine lines, like a constellation drifting across the sky: a cheerful Milanese street vendor with a little cart, a paper cone of roasted chestnuts and tiny jingling bells, with soft sparks rising like warm steam
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