Prepare for La Befana
We may have completed our journey around the world in anticipation of Christmas, but as Epiphany approaches, we’d like to invite you to take one more trip with us: to Italy, to hear the story of La Befana, the Christmas witch.
The legend of La Befana dates to the 1200s, well before Santa Claus! It tells of an old woman, sometimes referred to as a witch, who is known for her immaculate housekeeping. In the days preceding the birth of Jesus, she hosts the Magi in her home as they make their way to Bethlehem. When they leave, they invite her to join them, but she declines – she has too much housework to do. When La Befana realizes she has made a mistake, she packs a basket of gifts and tries to find Jesus on her own, but she never does. Instead, every Epiphany Eve (January 5), she takes to the sky on her broom to follow the stars, leaving gifts in every home with a child in it but never finding the one she’s looking for. Read more about La Befana on Italia Living or WIkipedia.
This Epiphany Eve, your family can leave out stockings for La Befana, and perhaps she’ll make a stop at your house! As the story goes, good children will receive toys and candy or fruit, while bad children will receive coal, but the current tradition holds that all children receive among their gifts a lump of “coal” made of black rock candy, because while no child is perfect, you don’t have to be perfect to enjoy something sweet.
You might also create a simple craft in honor of La Befana: a miniature broom. All you need is pipe cleaners – perhaps four brown, one black, and one in a bright color, though you can change the colors if you’d like. Bundle your four brown ones and fold them in half to be your brush, then loop the black one over the fold and twist it around itself to become your broom handle. Finally, wrap the bright one around the place where the handle meets the brush. And that’s it! Place your broom somewhere where you’ll pass it often, and when you do, let it be a reminder that when an opportunity to do something truly special comes your way, you should say yes! It may not be an invitation to travel to Bethlehem and meet the Baby Jesus, but it could still be life-changing.
What opportunities are you on the lookout for in the new year? Share with us in person or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
