La Befana, a story mixed with legend that has its roots in the mists of time. Folk tales tell that the Magi Kings Gaspare, Melchior and Baldassare in the long journey to get to Bethlehem from the Child Jesus, could not find the way. So they asked an old lady for information who showed them the way. The three wise men invited the old woman to join them, but despite her insistence she refused; a refusal she regretted and to make up for it she packed a sack full of desserts and he set out to look for the three wise men but of course he never found them again. So it was that the old lady started knocking on every door, giving sweets to every child she met, hoping that one of them was their own. Baby Jesus.
La Befana, the old lady who flies on her broom
This ancient legend also has a sort of pagan meaning linked to propitiatory rites for agriculture. In fact, between the tenth and sixth centuries BC and, in ancient Rome and up to the Middle Ages, the Roman celebrations for the winter solstice continued for 12 days after the 25 December. For the priests and sages of the time each day was representative of one of the 12 months of the year. The legend of the Befana, a typical character of Italian folklore, also originates from these traditions and beliefs. This because, in the 12 nights that followed the winter solstice, mysterious female figures were believed to fly over the fields on broomsticks to propitiate fertility and abundance for the crops in the fields.
From these popular narratives, from the mixture between Germanic mythology and the Christian symbolism of the Magi was born therefore the legend of the Befana as we know it today. Let's talk about the old lady who flies on a broomstick on the night between January 5th and 6th to bring sweets and delicacies to the good children and coal for the naughtier ones. Gifts with which she fills the stockings left hanging on the fireplace or in the window. Why exactly the socks? Because they expand easily and therefore can contain many sweet and welcome surprises.
