La “Befana” is the oldest festivity of the New Year celebrations.

She has been drawn as a grumpy, nasty, very old lady riding a broom in the sky during the night between 5th and 6th of January filling the stockings of the good boys and girls with sweeties or with coal for the naughty ones.

The Epiphany comes from very far in the past; it is from Romans and Celts the tradition of burning bonfires 12 days after the winter solstice, then with the Christians this tradition has been woven with the arrival of the Three Kings to donate their gifts to baby Jesus.

In Italy the 6th of January is a national holiday and there are loads of events and celebrations of the Christian festivity like the famous “Cavalcade of the Three Kings” in Florence with more than 700 characters in their costumes or simply to cheer the witch on the broom “la befana” like in Perugia where the Befana flies from a bell tower to another while in the town places all children receive chocolate.

Coming to our times, this year, near to Parma there will be the contest to vote Miss Befana 2012 to demonstrate that the old lady with the broom does not have necessarily to be unpleasant!

Have you been a good or naughty boy/girl?

D.