La Befana - A Christmas

Witch?

Did you know that witches aren't just associated with Halloween?  Believe it or not, there is a CHRISTMAS Witch!

In Italy, La Befana is a good witch and she is associated with Christmas! 

The holiday of LaBefana occurs each January 6th in Italy.  The term LaBefana actually stands for Epiphany in Italian.  According to the stories we've found, LeBefana ia an old lady, dressed shabbily, with a big nose and a discolored mole on the top of it!  She enters the houses just like Santa Claus, down the chimney, and guess what she brings?!  You got it, presents and candy for the kids!  She places the items in stockings that were hung on the fireplace the night before.  And to make another connection to Santa Claus, she gives naughty children coal in their stockings if they haven't been good! 

To celebrate LaBefana, Italians feast on homemade ravioli, fettucine, roast lamb and assorted desserts.  They also enjoy dried fruits and nuts.

We had no idea that there was a story like this in Italy, and it has been fun researching it.