Witch day for presents

"La Befana vien di notte con le scarpe tutte rotte col cappello alla romana viva viva la Befana!"

Italian children have a good time of it at Christmas. Not only do they get a separate day for San Nicoló, on the 6th December, and Christmas, they also have Befana a frightening yet kind hearted, witch intent on filling already bulging stockings.

La Befana arrives for Epiphany on the night of the 5th of January. Some families will make some familiar preparations &ndah; letters of wishes are composed and lodged up the chimney, stockings are fixed to the fireplace, and a glass of wine and an orange are left close by. Bonfires are collectively lit to guide the witch on her annual journey across the night sky on an old broom. She stops at each house where a small model of her is hung.

Like many Italian traditions La Befana is a mixture of folklore and Christianity. Although Befana comes from Epifania, from pre-Christian times, her haggard form has represented the old year which is burnt to make way for the new one. This has been woven with another more famous story.

Following the guiding star, the Magi stopped at a town to rest and encourage the townsfolk to join them on their journey to take gifts to the baby Jesus. The invitation disturbed one old woman who was in the middle of her housework. Dressed in a dark worn out dress, large apron, head scarf, and tatty multicoloured slippers, the woman said that she would follow them once she had finished her cleaning. Only a small while after the Magi left, the old woman was overcome with remorse for her delay. She rushed from the house, broom and simple gifts in hand. She never found the Magi or Jesus but her broom became magically able to carry her into the sky enabling her to bring gifts to children at the same time each year.

When la Befana comes she will know if the children have been good or bad. For those who have behaved there will be sweets and presents, for those who have not, she will leave them just coal and ashes. Nowadays in Italy, the carbone are made of sugar too. La Befana signifies the end of the seasonal celebrations, the transition into the new year and the connection between the old and the young through gifts. And the children sing the nursery rhyme:

"La Befana comes at night In tattered shoes Wearing a Roman hat Long live Befana!"

To read more about la Befana, visit http://www.la-befana.it