The legend of La Befana is a cherished Italian holiday tradition. On the eve of Epiphany (January 6), La Befana, whose name come from the Italian word for Epiphany, is said to bring gifts to the children of Italy. La Befana, as the story goes, was a somewhat fussy old woman who lived alone in a small house on the hills of Italy. She spent her days baking and sweeping. On their way to visit the infant Jesus, the Magi stopped at her house and asked he for directions (they must have been well and truly lost if they were in Italy!). She could not help them. Although they invited her to join them on their journey, she decided to stay home. Later, she wished she had gone with the three wise 
men, so bearing gifts and her broom (to help Mary clean), she set off on her own journey to find the Christ child. Unfortunately, try as she might, she could not find him. She searches to this day, and each year on the eve of Epiphany she visits homes where children lives, hoping to find Baby Jesus. Since she loves all children, she leaves gifts for them, before moving on and continuing her quest.
There is a delightful children's book by Tomie De Paoli called The Legend of Old Befana. Check it out by clicking on the icon in the Books We Love section on the lower left.( If you buy ANY item at Amazon by entering through one of the book icons here, we get a tiny bit of credit (at no cost to you) to help keep this blog going.)
