By Roxane Liguti, Year 12
Do you believe in witches? In Italy, a very famous one is celebrated every 5th of January of each year: La Befana.
Normally, children know her better than anyone. According to my Italian father, she flies on her broom throughout Italy and delivers a special present to each child’s shoe. If you are well-behaved, she gives you chocolate, however if you are naughty, she gifts you with coal, or at least, it is chocolate coated with edible black coloured powder. However, La Befana only visits if you are asleep! If you are awake, the Witch purposely skips your house so that you wake up with nothing to find. On the morning of the 6th of January, you wake up and run to your shoes to see if she snuck in with a present. This is a wholesome and heartwarming childhood memory that many people hold onto as they grow up.
The origin of this legend is disputed by historians. In Roman Times, it was a pagan celebration to honour Janus, the God of choices and Strena, the personification of well-being. The Romans would exchange sweets and presents with their families, as a sign of happiness and to celebrate spending time together.
However, the arrival of Christianity changed the story slightly. As the story goes, when Mary and Joseph were fleeing Bethlehem, they encountered an elderly and frail woman. They kindly asked her if she wanted to follow them to a nearby cave to rest, and take shelter with them and have supper. She thanked them greatly, but refused their kind hospitality. Later on, filled with remorse and hunger, she travelled the forest and found a great amount of goods.
She placed her findings in a large basket and went on to follow the couple to thank them for their generosity. Through the dark night, she couldn’t find the cave where the King Mages and the couple were. Saddened and sorrowful, the old woman decided to head back to offer her findings to the children of the villages she had passed through. Ever since then, fruit and sweets are given to the good children to reward them for their good behaviour and coal is doled out to the naughty children to discourage them from behaving poorly towards their families.
In more recent times, every day since the beginning of January, smaller children prepare their gifts for the Gentle Witch, La Befana. Many different presents are offered to her; for example, people give her drawings, chocolate and even powdered sugar. In every part of Italy, mostly in the supermarkets, you can find chocolate or any kind of sweet treat to be given to the Witch. Many people also bake to celebrate her arrival.
To ensure she does arrive, you must sing this nursery rhyme the night before:
“La Befana vien di notte → La Befana arrives by night
Con le scarpe tutte rotte → With very broken shoes
Con le toppe alla sottana : → With patches on her skirt
Viva Viva la Befana” → Hurray Hurray to la Befana
Even today, people dress up as her and walk around town only giving sweets to children. People also dress up as the Three Kings and ride horses around towns, and do the same as La Befana, just to have fun and bring joy to others. I always loved this tradition growing up, because it is a perfect excuse to eat chocolate!
Buona befana in gran ritardo !
