The Epiphany

                                               Festival's of Italy

The Epiphany 

 The Epiphany feast also known as La Befana, the witch who is celebrated on the Epiphany, a national holiday in Italy. On January 6 this witch rides around on her broomstick bringing gifts to children as she searches for the baby Jesus.

 La Befana’s search for Jesus references the three wise men, who visited and brought gifts to the miracle child. The La Befana Festival originates in Urbania, a town in the Le Marche region. And Urbania is where you should go for one of the largest Epiphany celebrations in Italy! The party, gift giving, and feasts go on for four whole days. In Rome, the Vatican also puts on a show for the Epiphany. People gather in St. Peter’s Square to hear the Pope commemorate the three wise men in a morning mass.

                           

In popular folklore Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany to fill their stockings with candy and presents if they are good. Or a lump of coal or dark candy if they are bad. In many poorer parts of Italy and in particular rural Sicily, a stick in a stocking was placed instead of coal. Being a good housekeeper, many say she will sweep the floor before she leaves. To some the sweeping meant the sweeping away of the problems of the year. The child's family typically leaves a small glass of wine and a plate with a few morsels of food, often regional or local, for the Befana