Viva La Befana Viva

And once again this evening, as she has done for millennia, La Befana flies from house to house in Italy - and I've been told in some part of Canada too.  On her first journey she searched for the Christ Child but being told that she could find him in each child she made it her task to reward children for their good deeds with sweets, oranges and small gifts.  But being a wise woman she knew that no child was ever always good so she keeps a supply of coal and turnips (?) for those times when behaviour deserved not reward but a reminder to be better next year.

La Befana has had a place on our Christmas Tree since our first Christmas in Italy back in 2007.
Now she serves as a reminder of the love and friendship of all our dear friends, who we miss so much, in Italy.

I've written on several occasions about the many stories of how La Befana became, for one night of the year, the guardian of all the children.  Each variation makes the story of this old woman richer and more endearing and I can only hope more enduring.

January 2008 - An Italian Christmas Tradition - La Befana 
January 2009 - Ephipania II
January 2011 - Viva La Befana! La Befana!
January 2012 -  The Flight of La Befana

To all my friends and loved ones in Italy, I hope with all my heart that La Bifana rewards you for your goodness and is forgiving of those bad times.  Viva La Befana Viva!

05 January - 1925: Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.