• Home
  • Author
    • Learn Italian with Melissa
  • Synopsis
    • Sophia’s Muses
  • Book News
    • Reader Reviews of Dreaming Sophia
    • Dreaming Sophia Italy Book Tour
    • Photo Gallery
  • Buy the Book
    • Shop with Sophia!
  • Discover Italy
  • Art / Artists
  • Pinterest
  • Blog
  • Music / Video
    • Music featured in Dreaming Sophia
    • Videos about Italy
  • Readers visit Florence with Melissa
  • Inside Scoop Radio Interview

La Befana, the Italian Christmas witch and I have a lovely gift for you!

Posted by Melissa Muldoon on
 January 3, 2017
  · No Comments

befana italian christmas witchChristmas has been celebrated and a new year has arrived with lots of pomp and circumstance. It seems like the holidays are finally winding down. Time to think about packing things away in boxes and clear the way for a brand new year.

But wait!

The holiday season might be over and done with in most parts of the world, but not in Italy. All the Italian children still await the arrival of the Befana. Who is the Befana you ask? She is the good witch who arrives on January 6th. She brings toys and sweets to fill their stockings. (Sound a little familiar?) The day of the Befana falls on Epiphany, the day the three wise men,  guided by a star arrived discovered Gesu, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

befana italian christmas witch

Would you like to know more about this lovely Italian legend? Sì! Well then, let’s step into the shoes of Sophia and eavesdrop on a conversation I imagine my character would have had with her mother, as the two prepare for the Christmas holidays and the arrival of La Befana*.

Stay tuned, at the end of the story you can WIN a Dreaming Sophia 2017 Calendar!

******************************

I had always loved the holidays and parties. I got that from my mom. Throwing bashes and organizing events were her forte, but never so much as at Christmas. She was in her element during the month of December recreating all the Italian foods and traditions she had learned about living in Florence. With the help of Luciana, her Italian friend, she prepared biscotti and traditional treats like vin brulè, a delicious blend of warm wine and spices, and panettone, a sweet, yeasty Italian fruitcake. On Christmas Eve we dined on salted baccalà, a savory dish starring a dried out piece of codfish. On New Year’s Eve, we played “Tombola,” Italian Bingo, and danced around our kitchen wearing silly hats and blowing into paper horns shouting, “Buon Capodanno!” Happy New Year!

But the winter holidays didn’t end there. In the magical manner of my mother, the warmth of the season, always a swirl of bright colors, music, and laughter, was drawn out into the New Year. On January 6th we celebrated the Epiphany and welcomed the Italian witch, La Befana, into our home. Each year my mother carefully unwrapped the puppet she had purchased in a Christmas market in Rome and hung her in the archway of the dining room. Looking up, I admired the old witch, dressed in red with a burlap apron tied around her waist. On top of her head was perched a pointed hat and she straddled a wicker broom.

Tilting her head to one side, my mother would look at me and ask, “Remember the story, Sophi?”

Of course, I’d heard the tale a million times over, ever since I’d turned six. But just to make her happy I’d purse my lips and look up at the ceiling as if I was thinking hard trying to recall the story. Then I’d say, “I’m not sure, Mom. Maybe you could refresh my memory again?”

She would smile broadly and begin, “Oh, OK, Little-Miss-Know-it-All. In Italy, they would call you ‘una saputella.’ Well, let me tell you the story again.” Then tossing me a cookie from a plate on the table she said, “As you may or may not recall, Signorina Saputella, Befana was a poor, poor woman who had no time to waste on the Magi Kings. No ma’am! She was much too busy cleaning her house to help them find baby Gesù.” She picked up an imaginary broom and pantomimed swatting me on the rear. Then she added, “When the kings came knocking at her door, she shooed them away with her broom.”

Looking over at me she winked. “But in the end, Befana wasn’t so terribly bad. Regretting her bad behavior, she jumped on her broom and went off in search of the baby herself.”

At this point my mother began circling the room, her hand raised to her forehead as if she, too, was seeking the babe in the manger. Passing by the doll dangling from the doorway she tapped it gently causing it swing into flight. Looking over at me, gesturing like Groucho Marx with an imaginary cigar in her hand, she said in a flippant tone, “She probably even arrived before the Three Kings, had a hot meal waiting for them, and even swept out the manger with her broom. Leave it to a woman to get things done properly!”

Becoming serious again she said, “But during her quest Befana gave a small gift to each child she encountered, hoping to make amends for her selfish behavior.” 

Enchanted by the holiday fairy tale, which I actually never got tired of hearing, I waited anxiously for January 6th for more presents that I’d find in a red sock at the foot of my bed.

In the novel “Dreaming Sophia,” you will learn more legends about Italy, as well as learn a bit of Italian to boot! The book is now available on Amazon in print and e-book.

THE CALENDAR GIVEAWAY HAS CONCLUDED. Thanks to everyone who participated. Two random winners have been chosen by Rafflecopter and they are: Kathy S. and Julie B.

 ******************************

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter the contest either by
1. Tweeting about the contest
or
2. Visiting the Dreaming Sophia Facebook Page

To make your entry count make sure you click “I tweeted” or click “I visited Facebook Page” in the lower right hand corner of the Rafflecopter form above. That’s it!

Chance to win 2 Dreaming Sophia 2017 Wall Calendars (14″ x 11″). This Giveaway is open to U.S. participants. Contest runs from January 3rd – January 10th

befana italian christmas witch

(Calendars are also available on my Zazzle site)

For more Dreaming Sophia gifts (mugs, shirts, and book bags) click here.

*To learn more about La Befana, visit the Studentessa Matta website

La Bella Brutta Befana

Zitti Zitti Presto a Letto Arriva La Befana

Massimo Troisi e La Befana

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Related

Categories : Uncategorized
Tags : Befana, Dreaming Sophia, Dreaming Sophia Calendar, Epiphany in Italy, Florence, Give Away, Italian Language, Italian legends, Italian witch, Italy, January 6, Matta Designs Zazzle, Melissa Muldoon, New Year
← Next Post
Previous Post →

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Dreaming Sophia 1st place Adult Fiction 2018 Reader Views Literary Awards.

Visit Melissa's Author Site For more information on all my books, Italian trips & creative projects: MelissaMuldoon.com

giphy

subscribeblog3



 

2017widget_arezzo

DS_Email_WidgetMelissa@DreamingSophiaBook.com

You can find me here too!

  socialmedia_facebooksocialmedia_twittersocialmedia_googlesocialmedia_instagramsocialmedia_youtubesocialmedia_linkinsocialmedia_tumblersocialmedia_pinterestsocialmedia_aboutme mattaavatar2

Dreaming Sophia FB

Dreaming Sophia FB

Recent Posts

  • Sharing a magical letter from Sophia Loren
  • Dreaming Sophia Receives 1st Place in Adult Fiction in the 2018 Reader Views Literary Awards
  • As an author – what do you enjoy most about the writing process?
  • Celebrating Waking Isabella — Book Launch Party!
  • Waking Isabella starts in the distant past, then continues in the future with flashbacks. How did you keep track of parallel history lines?

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
Dreaming Sophia 2018 Wall Calendar
Dreaming Sophia 2018 Wall Calendar
by Diario_Melissa
Dreaming Sophia Copyright © 2018 All Rights Reserved
Site by WebsitesInWP