Italian Christmas Witch?

Question

Me and My boyfriend are doing a project called Winter Holiday Project, and we don't know what the Italian Christmas Witch is. We need sites... HELP!!!!

Answer 1

She is kind of the Italian Santa: La Befana is an old lady with a big nose and a red mole on top of it. She wears an old coat mended with colorful patches. Her shoes are big, old and broken. She flies around on a broom and carries with her a big black bag filled with sweets and presents for children all over the world. She enters the houses through the chimneys and deposits the presents inside the old socks that we hang the night before, before going to sleep. In the morning when we wake up, we are very happy to find our old socks filled with presents. But for the children who have not been good throughout the year there will not be presents. Instead La Befana will fill their sock with charcoal.



http://www.zuzu.org/italy.html


Look up the ledgens of La Befana and you will find lots more information..

Answer 2

You see in Italy, the holiday season really lasts through Jan. 6, or the Epiphany, and on that day La Befana, known to some as the Christmas witch, brings goodies to all of Italy's children.

Legend has it that she was an old Italian grandma-type happily cleaning her house, when three men showed up at her door. No fool, she was skeptical. She shooed them away when they said they were searching for baby Jesus, the newborn king. After a little while, she had second thoughts. Perhaps, the men were honest and telling the truth. If so, she missed her chance to help them reach the king. She decided she should try to catch up with them. But they were long gone. So, she handed out gifts to all of the children in the neighborhood in the hopes that one of them was Jesus. Every year she goes to look for the three wise men - and most importantly baby Jesus. When she does, she leaves little surprises for the little Italian girls and boys.

Some say she didn't go with the wise men because she had chores to do. Others believe she promised to find them after she finished the housework. Still others have an entirely different version of the story. I've also heard that La Befana was a mother to a son who lived in King Herod's day. Herod reportedly decreed that each male child born was to be killed because one of them could be the new king. La Befana was so traumatized when her son was murdered that she didn't believe he was really killed. She set out in search of him carrying all of his belongings in a sack.

She quickly aged from worry - her face became wrinkled, her hair turned gray and she grew to look like an old, haggard lady. She finally found a male baby in a manger and she laid out her son's belongings at the baby's feet. The baby was Jesus Christ. And He blessed the lady as “Befana,” the giver of gifts. After that, every year on Jan. 5, the eve of the Epiphany, she would be mother to all of the world's children and would care for them by bringing them treats.

I personally prefer to believe that last story is the truth. Who can't feel for a grief stricken mamma? What a lovely thought that a woman who lost her baby can turn her sadness into an excuse to nurture all children, including Jesus. But you can pick your favorite legend and stick with it. That's the beauty of La Befana.

Traditionally, the Epiphany or Little Christmas is a holiday for children in Italy. But the adults never give up a chance for a feast. Many family and friends go from house to house visiting one another after opening La Befana's gifts in the morning. There are parades featuring the Christmas witch - at which she is sometimes joined by her companion Befano. The children sing songs to her and dolls are left out in the windows. Some families burn the dolls to cancel out the past year and usher in good luck. You can start your