Christmas in Calabria: La Festa della Befana

By Cherrye Moore
January 5th, 2010

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Think Christmas is over? Think again. For the children of Italy, January 6 marks the day when La Befana*, the cherished Christmas witch delivers stockings and presents to all of the good little ragazzi. In true Italian style, the legend of La Befana is filled with mystery, intrigue and drama and dates back to Jesus’ birth, when the Three Wise Men were searching for his manger.

According to the legend, The Three Wise men met La Befana as they were looking for the manger, asked her for directions, and invited her to come along. She refused their invitation because she was too busy cleaning her house.

Later that night, she saw a great light rising into the sky and decided to join the Three Wise Men in search for the infant King. She ran after them, still carrying her broom, but got lost and never made it to the manger. Somehow her broom magically began to fly, but she still could not find the Wise Men or the baby.

Each year she continues her search on the night before the Epiphany and fills stockings with candy to the good children-or coal to the bad ones- throughout the country.

And this is quite the holiday.

Photo: Trevino on Flickr

Children in Calabria adore La Befana and anticipate her arrival much in the same way as children in the US look forward to Santa. In fact, it is only the last 30 years or so that Santa increased his popularity in southern Italy and many of my older Italian friends remember the Feast of the Epiphany with the same childlike wistfulness as we remember our childhood Christmas mornings.

For more information on La Befana, you can read an article I wrote last year about the feast of La Befana or you can read about the Epiphany here.

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and B&B owner living in Calabria, Italy. In addition to Affordable Calling Cards, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria at her website, My Bella Vita.

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*According to The Florentine, the name “Befana” derives from the word “Epifania,” the name of the holiday that ends the 12 days of Christmas and is celebrated on January 6.