Just like Santa Claus is the benevolent counterpart to an ogre, Befana is a kind witch. She is an ugly old hunchbacked
lady with a crooked nose. She is dressed in rags and covered in soot (for she enters the houses through the chimney)
and she travels straddling a twig broom and carries a self-replenishing sack (or basket) full of goodies. Candies and
toys go into the stockings left hanging for her by good children, while the lumps of coal, onions or garlic are given
to naughty children in punishment (though nowadays, the coal is really a lump of black rock candy).

The Legend of La Befana
The legend goes that the Three Kings on their way to visit the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem called at La Befana's hut
for hospitality. They asked if she wanted to join them, but she said she would rather not go because she was too
busy. Later she changed her mind, so she hastily gathered a few gifts and tried following the Wise Men, but could
not catch up with them, nor could she find the Christ Child. Eversince, each Twelfth Night she travels from house
to house leaving presents for the children, just in case one of them is Baby Jesus...

In some country areas in Italy, the Befana festival even bears an uncanny resemblance with the Celtic festival of Halloween:
groups of people (children or adults) dress up as La Befana, and go knocking from door to door singing rhymes and asking for
gifts of sweets. After all, just like All Hallow's Eve and the Summer Solstice, Twelfth Night was considered one of
the magical nights of the year.

January 6th as a National Holiday in Italy and Spain
The Befana (Epifania) festival is a national holiday in Italy, and Italian children only go back to school from their
Christmas holidays on January 7th. To get any idea of how dearly loved the festival is throughout Italy, suffice it to
say that the holiday was suppressed by law in 1977, but had to be reintroduced by popular demand in 1985.

The Christmas Witch” <i>A Truly Enchanting Holiday Story</i ...When I saw the title “The Christmas Witch: An Italian Legend” at the ... around Italy looking for the Child and leaves toys and treats for all the children. ...
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