Have You Ever Heard of La Befana the Christmas Witch?

If, like me, you are from America, you may not have heard about the legend of La Befana. I only very recently learned of her myself and I have made it to the half century mark. This bit of folklore comes to us from Italy where she is known as the good witch of Christmas and she actually predates jolly ole St. Nick having originated sometime in the 13th century.

So the story goes like this:

The Three Wise Men, of the Christian bible, were traveling to Bethlehem to see the Baby Jesus who was recently born, according to believers, on the 25th of December. Along the way, they tired and needed to stop for a rest and this is where they meet La Befana who was more than happy to receive them. She greeted them broom in hand and house very clean and accommodating. She gave them a meal and a place to rest their weary heads. They liked her so much that they invited her to come along with them on their journey to meet the new savior of the world but alas La Befana declined the offer. She told them that she must stay for she had much sweeping to do. The Wise Men, in a hurry to meet Baby Jesus, soon set out upon their travel leaving La Befana there to sweep her very tidy cottage. A short time later, as she was sweeping, of course, she reconsidered their offer and decided that she too must meet this new born king. She gathered together some candy to give to the baby as a gift and set out into the night upon her broom following the same bright star that the Wise Men had told her about. She stopped at each house searching for little Jesus and when she found that he was not there she decided to leave candy anyway for the children residing in the home. She placed the candy in their shoes and or socks (stockings).

Well, unfortunately (for her) she never did find Jesus but still searches to find him and still leaves candy and toys for the good little children but for the bad ones she leaves a little lump of coal. This coal is actually candy as well. It is made to look exactly like a little chunk of coal called "carbone " in the Italian language because everyone deserves a second chance. I love that! I think it is a great message to children to let them know that they are not beyond redemption. I was intrigued to find that Wal-Mart sells La Befana Coal candy. Evidently, it is made of a marshmallow center, covered with milk chocolate and sugar and states on the package that it will "turn your mouth black!"

The date on which La Befana makes her annual journey in search of Jesus is the night of January 5th. It is the eve of The Epiphany and, in fact, that is where her name, La Befana, is derived. If you were not aware, The Epiphany is a Christian holiday primarily commemorating the visit to the new born Jesus from the Three Wise Men. This holiday is also sometimes called the 12 Days of Christmas because it took the wise men 12 days from the birth of Jesus on the 25th of December to make their way to him. This might remind you of that carol you used to sing called The Twelve Days of Christmas. I recall singing that Christmas carol every year and I had no idea what it was about as my family did not celebrate The Epiphany.

The tradition of La Befana is still very much alive and well and celebrated every year in Italy. Lucky, children living there get gifts on Christmas Day and Epiphany Day! The latter, usually small toys and or candy brought by the good witch La Befana. When La Befana comes it is customary to leave out for her a small glass of wine and maybe some salami or a cookie and in exchange, it is said, she will sweep the floor for you.

La Befana sweeping the floor reminds me of how we witches use our brooms to sweep away negativity. It was immediately clear to me that she was sweeping away the old negative stuff we have gathered over the past year and making way for good things in the new year to come. I see that the Epiphany is about looking forward to good things coming your way. This is evident even in the Christians looking forward to the reign of their baby savior Jesus. Then the night of January 6th, they hold big public bonfires. This is where everyone burns all the things they don't want to bring with them into the new year such as bad habits, toxic relationships etc. I love the idea of this and it makes sense. When you burn something you are then purifying it. This is very much a spiritual cleansing and purification ritual.

The moment I learned about La Befana, I fell in love with her story and her magick and I knew she would be the perfect addition to my witchy Yule tree. Now, La Befana is usually depicted as an old witch. One that is not easy on the eyes. Traditionally, she has a warty face, a large nose, old ragged clothes covered with patches and wears a kerchief around her hair. She represents the old year that has passed away. La Befana, broom in hand assists in sweeping away the year gone by to make way for the new year to come.

The Befana doll that I made looks a little different than the traditional Befana you normally see. I made her with wings and turned her into an angel to sit upon my tree. And isn't she an angel? After all, an angel is simply a messenger and La Befana surely delivers a message. Every year she reminds each one of those lives that she touches that we indeed have something to look forward to if we are willing to put forth some effort. Change is constant and it is up to each individual to make sure that the changes made are for the betterment of ourselves, our family, friends and acquaintances. And in this way each and everyone of us can make the world we live in a better place.