oh bej! oh bej! origin of the name
The name, which in dialect means Oh Belli! Oh Belli!, seems to derive from the exclamations of wonder from Milanese children, when, in 1510, they saw the gifts brought by the papal envoy Giannetto Castiglioni, appointed by Pope Pius IV to rekindle the city’s devotion to Saints Lazarus and Maurice.
Arriving at the gates of Milan, and fearing a cold reception from a people who had never expressed strong sympathies for the pope, Castiglioni decided to take advantage of the occasion of December 7 (the date of the election as bishop of the patron Ambrose, in 374), having a large quantity of gifts prepared to distribute to children during the entrance into the city. The initiative was a great success and a festive procession accompanied him to the Basilica of Saint Ambrose.
oh bej! oh bej! origin of the name: another theory
Another theory about the origin of the name oh bej! oh bej! speaks instead of a much more straightforward etymology: this would have been the motto, the shout to attract, of street vendors behind their sales counters, to emphasize the goodness of their goods.
Between legend and reality, the oh bej! oh bej of Milan continue to be, year after year, a classic and unmissable appointment in the popular-cultural scene of Milan.
