La Befana, a Beloved Tradition by von.otter
La Befana, one of Italy's oldest and most beloved traditions takes the form of a kindly, elderly woman. Legend tells us that the Three Wise Men were searching for the Christ child when they stopped at a small house to ask directions. When they knocked, an old woman with a broom opened the door. She did not know who these gaily dressed men were looking for and could not point the way. They asked her to join them. She declined because she was busy with her housework. After they left she reconsidered and tried to catch up with the men; but she could not find them. To make up for her error, the old woman stopped all the children along the way to give them each a small treat, hoping that one was the Christ child.
Each year on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany, the 6th of January, Italian children are visited by La Befana. If they had been good the previous year, she leaves candy; if they had been naughty she leaves a lump of coal. The name Befana is a corruption of the Italian word epifania, which means epiphany.
It is believed that the tradition of La Befana got its start in Rome, and then spread throughout Italy. In Rome's glorious Piazza Navona an outdoor market is set up each year in December through the Epiphany. Toys, sugar coal, and candy are sold for the Roman children.
The Epiphany, the day that the Three Wise Men arrived at the manger of the Christ child, marks the end of the Christmas season, and has traditionally been the day when gifts are given, rather than on the more solemn Christmas Day as in America. Sadly, the lovely, quaint tradition of La Befana is losing ground to American consumerism and Santa Claus bringing presents on Christmas Day is gaining popularity.