La Befana, The Good Witch

Many holiday traditions exist in my home; some of which have been passed down from my ancestors and others which I have created for my family. Now as my children age, it becomes more difficult to retell the fables or partake in the crafts that my sons enjoyed so much when they were younger.

So, to my surprise last evening, my younger son asked me why we kept our Christmas tree intact until January 7^th. I knew he wanted to hear the tale of La Befana and it made me smile. Just as my Sicilian grandmother told me the tale of the good witch, I would retell it to him, again. I got both us a glass of milk and a few cookies.

I watched him nibble on the cookies as he asked, “Please tell me. I have forgotten why.”

“It has to do with the Epiphany, La Befana and the Three Wise Men,” I replied.

“Ahhh,” he exclaimed, “I remember. The Epiphany is when the Wise men came to Jesus.”

I knew he had remembered since I had told the tale over and again since he was a tot. He watched with the same eyes that I remember when he was as small child. The same eyes I had as my grandmother explained why most of the people we knew had already had taken down their Christmas tree and why we still had ours intact on January 6^th.

La Befana was an elderly lady and known for being a hard-worker and an excellent housekeeper. One evening, there was a knock on her front door. When she opened it, there stood three distinguished and well-dressed gentlemen asking for directions to a star they had seen in the sky. La Befana invited them inside and they rested. They noticed her home was a clean and pleasant home. The Three Kings, called the Magi, claimed that the star would lead them to the Son of God. La Befana said she was unable to help them find their way.

The Magi asked La Befana to accompany them on their search but she claimed she was busy tending to her home and had wasted much time already by visiting with them. The Magi departed and La Befana resumed her chores.

As the star in the sky grew brighter, La Befana had a change of heart. She quickly packed a small bag with baked good and gifts for the baby Jesus and her trusty broom to help the new mother clean once she arrived. She searched for the Magi and for the newborn child, but never did find either.

To this day, La Befana can be seen flying on her trusty broom on the Eve of the Epiphany looking for the baby Jesus. She stops at all of the good children’s houses, climbs down their chimneys and leaves sweets and goodies in their stockings in hopes of finding the Christ child at last.

I like the message in which the story sends to us. That possibly, it’s good to put aside our everyday mundane tasks and take a chance in life; to seek something better than ourselves and sometimes, even, to simply look up at the sky and admire a star.