Her name is Befana, a name perhaps derived from the word for the Epifania feast day itself. It is on the eve of this 12th and last day of Christmas that she soars through the night, and to their delight, the children of many regions in Italy have hung up their socks and gone to bed, greatly anticipating this after-hours visitor, awaiting her judgement over them. Good children will awake to find candy, fruits and little presents, but the naughty ones will get lumps of coal (many get dark coal-shaped candy) or even an onion or some garlic, and anyone she catches peeking is said to feel the thwack of her broom handle!

THIS IS HER STORY:

Befana lived in a nice tidy little house on the outer edge of her small village, all alone since her husband and little son had passed long ago from this earth. One night, The Three Wise Men passed by on their search, following the star that would lead them to Bethlehem. They knocked on her door and she was very hospitable, offering them food and shelter. As these Magi left to continue their journey to find the Baby Jesus that had been born on Christmas day, they kindly asked her to join them, but she refused, saying she had too much house work to see about, but soon she felt she had made a big mistake and looked out her small window to see the amazing star shining, so she set off after them on her broomstick, with a bundle of baked treats and the toys that had belonged to her own lost son. Although she searched very long and hard to catch up with them, the way of their path was lost to her so she never found the Babe in the manger, and she continues to fly every eve of the Epiphany, hoping to find the Christ Child while stopping to visit the children of each and every house.

Stories from different regions vary, but Befana is always described as very very old with white hair, and she comes down the chimney with old broken down shoes, raggedy clothing, and a tattered shawl covered in coal dust and ashes. She carries a sack, full of gifts and candy that she stuffs into the good children’s waiting socks while they are fast asleep in their beds. In return, the families she visits have left out a glass of wine and some food or a sweet cake for her by the hearth or window, or in some regions, ricotta cheese since her teeth are not so good! Because she is such a meticulous house keeper, she always sweeps the floor before she leaves up the chimney. In addition to her other Santa-like traits, she also receives children’s letters with a wish list of toys and candy they hope to receive.

Photograph © 2014 Robin Davis, all rights reserved

 

AN OLD ITALIAN SONG

La Befana vien di notte         ( The Befana comes by night )
Con le scarpe tutte rotte       ( With her shoes all tattered and torn )
Col vestito alla romana         ( She comes dressed in the Roman way )
Viva, Viva La Befana!             ( Long life to the Befana! )

There are many traditional songs and poems in her honor, and La Befana Festivals are held all over Italy, like the huge four day festival in Urbania where you can visit the House of Befana and see a special mailbox at the Post Office to receive her letters. For the Regata of the Befanas in Venice, men in old lady costumes race their boats to the Rialto Bridge. In Viterbo, they hold a big parade, where 1000’s of Befanas hoist broomsticks aloft, carrying a giant 52 meter long stocking full of presents. In Rome there is a Befana Village, the annual parade of La Befana, a long procession in Medieval costumes, carrying symbolic gifts to the Pope at the Vatican, and Piazza Navona holds the Feast of Befana which is a seasonal fair selling toys and treats, and the Romans say that if you carefully watch a particular window, you can see Befana appear, showing herself there at midnight. In another creepy and very old tradition in some regions, a scarecrow figure in the form of an old woman is burned in the fields, that in ages past, symbolized the years ending, and the expectation of good crops to come with the promise of Springtime.

The history of the Roman fair goes back to ancient times and celebrates seasonal traditions of bidding the old year goodbye, marking the passing of the longest night of the year, and the return of the sun, when the days would begin to lengthen again. The Goddess Strina (whose name means gifts) oversaw the exchanging of small tokens, figs and dates, and honeyed sweets among family and friends, giving assurances during a dark and dormant period that better seasons were to come. The people would go up to the Capitoline Hill to visit the Wise Old Crone who would “read the augurs” to tell their fortunes for the new and coming year. Italians still say tanti auguri (many fortunate wishes) di buon anno (of a good year).

Although Befana is very good in nature, there is also the scary element for the Children of Italy. Their mothers tell them they must be good and go to bed or Befana will get them, or that she won’t leave them good things in their stockings. Befana, like Santa, combines the elements of the fairy spirits of old, living forever, having the power of flight, as well as their all knowing viewpoint about each child’s behavior all year. The tradition of the old woman, the Babushka or old friendly grandmother carrying treats to give to the children is an ancient archetype in many many stories, like the evil witch in Hansel and Gretel who also has sweets for the children, but only to entice and entrap them!

Perhaps a symbol of still older ages, Befana holds a place of importance as an ancient and mythical ancestress. There are many threads and details of her story that tie her to these traditions. Entering a dwelling through the chimney harkens back to the very beginnings of civilization, when offerings of food were left around the smoke holes of huts where ancestral spirits were invited to enter. This symbolic honoring of the old ancestors, revered for there wisdom and in hopes of their guidance, is still practiced today in many forms all over the world, on every continent.

The attraction of this mysterious character runs deep, linked by each telling of the generational stories, handed down by oral tradition and gradually changed over time. As we peel back the layers of a myriad of folk traditions, to see variations of stories in different regions, there is something very very old about Befana that takes us back, perhaps to the very root of civilization. Her characteristics are definitely in the tradition and spirit of the Old Crone, and not like your typical Halloween Witch. Befana’s flying broomstick, like a wand of magic, relates to the tree branch from the grove sacred to the Roman Goddess. She is the oldest and last member of the triple-goddess of mythology, and she symbolizes wisdom gained, to be looked back upon at the ending of the old year.

So on this night of January 5th, the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany, think of Befana as she flies through the Italian night sky on her quest.