la Befana

I should start by wishing all of you Buon Anno (Happy New Year), since this is my first post in 2008. We had two intense weeks between December 23 and January 6. We spent Christmas in the Bay Area, where we still live part of the time, then we visited my father-in-law and his wife, and finally we spent a week scuba diving with friends. We did not stay up until midnight on December 31, but we celebrated Capodanno (New Year's Day) in a nice way, immersed in nature and in the company of good friends.

I was planning to talk about la Befana which is celebrated on January 6. It was a holiday when I was a kid, then it was no longer a holiday for a few years (it was decided that the Italian calendar had too many holidays, so some of them were canceled) and finally it was reinstated. The actual religious holiday is called Epifania (Epiphany). If you have never heard of la Befana, and therefore don't know what she looks like, I invite you to read this really nice post by Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita, then come back here for more.

"La Befana vien di notte con le scarpe tutte rotte" is the beginning of a rhyme about la Befana that has many different variations in terms of how it proceeds. I actually remember only as much as I wrote, which in English reads la Befana comes at night with her shoes all tattered-and-torn. Children expects la Befana to fill their stockings with candies and chocolates if they have been good during the preceding year, and with lumps of coal if they have been not so good. I always found a piece of coal in my stocking, which was black, hard, made of sugar and not particularly tasty. Every year, my father would tell me that the prized items in his stocking were mandarins and oranges, not candies and chocolates.

My father used to recite another rhyme about this day. The first part was in Italian: Pasqua Epifania tutte le feste porta via (Epiphany carries away all the holidays). In fact, the day after la Befana we would usually dismantle the Christmas tree and put away all the decorations. The second part was in the dialect spoken in his village and my writing is an approximation of his pronunciation: poi revè Sant'Antognetto e ne reporta 'n saccoccetto (then Saint Anthony arrives carrying a small pocketful of them). The feast of Saint Anthony Abbot is celebrated on January 17. What does the saint have to do with a small bagful of holidays? To get the answer you will have to wait until the right day.

Every year my favorite square in Rome, Piazza Navona, hosts the Fiera della Befana, a colorful fair that I remember visiting when I was a child and was already in love with that elegant urban space. I no longer leave my stocking out on the eve of la Befana, but I am still attached to the old lady that makes children happy (hence the stylized smiley face on the sand, an image taken recently at Point of Sand, Little Cayman island).

Hear me pronounce the words on the Befana audio file [mp3] or go to the Befana audio page for more listening options.

Comments

[Lucy]

Buon Anno to you, Simona.

I've always been fascinated by the way in which Italian children's stories and fairytales feature benevolent witches! Thank you for the introduction.

[baking history]

Ciao Simona, buon anno!
"la befana vien di notte..." e' stata una delle prime filastrocche che ho insegnato al mio bambino :-)

[Alex]

Bentornata sul blog e buon anno anche a te! Ho degli splendidi ricordi di Piazza Navona quando ci andavo da bambina il giorno della Befana!!
Buon inizio d'anno! Alex

[fabdo]

Buon Anno anche a te Simona!
Belli i racconti legati alla Befana...
Quanti ricordi teneri tornano alla mente...

ti abbraccio ^.^

[Susan]

The old crone and the lump of coal...seems many a Christian culture has them both.

How lovely that you spent part of your holidays in the Caymans. It must have been gorgeous. Happy New Year!

[Maryann]

Happy New Year, Simona!
It is kind of you to mention my post on the old girl. I love her!
How adventurous you are going scuba diving. My husband is a dive master and is trying to get me interested, but I like my feet on the ground :)

[Francesca]

Ciao cara Simona, ti faccio intanto i miei auguri per questo nuovo anno appena cominciato e spero di sentirci presto. Baci.

[Lisa]

So good to have you back! Happy new year to you, too. I loved your story; I'd never heard about this holiday until reading your (and Maryann's) posts. Wonderful.

So strange, this "official" taking away and reinstating of the holiday!

All the best for 2008.

[Marie]

Simona, Maryann and you did a great job explaining la befana,thanks.

[Simona]

Hi Lucy, I also find the Befana an interesting character, as a benevolent witch.

Ciao Manuela. E come continua la tua versione?

Immagino, Alex. ci sei stata quest'anno?

Ciao Donatella. Per me la Befana e' sempre stata piu' interessante di Babbo Natale.

Hi Susan: it was very nice and very peaceful.

Wow Maryann, you should let yourself be convinced. Learning is a drag, but, as any diver will tell you, once you try you are hooked.

Ciao Francesca. Grazie degli auguri e a presto.

Hi Lisa. After two weeks of traveling, it feels good to be at home for a while. The Italian holiday calendar has none of the rational 'holidays on Monday' concept of the US one. Maybe one day I will write a post about it.

Thanks Marie: I am glad you enjoyed our stories.

[baking history]

la versione che conosco io e' cosi':
"la befana vien di notte con le scarpe tutte rotte
col vestito alla romana
viva viva la befana!"
:)

manuela

[Paz]

Thanks for sharing this with us! I'm glad you're back posting. ;-)

Paz

[Baol]

Ciao Simona, sul mio blog c'è un premio per te :)

[Mansi]

Hi! my first time here...got here trough Susan's blog:) Happy New Year to you too!

I'm hosting a Game Night Party event on my blog and would like to invite you to send in a delicious entry if you can! (details on my blog) Hope to see you there!

[Christine]

Welcome home Simona, and happy new year. I love this story!

[Mattisulweb]

Un saluto dall'Italia a tutti!

Franz
www.mattisulweb.altervista.org

[Simona]

Ciao Manuela. Davvero io non mi ricordo se sapevo qualche finale, ma ho trovato che su wikipedia ce be sono un po': http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befana#Filastrocca

Thanks, Paz.

Ciao Baol: grazie dell'onore. Le tue parole mi sono piaciute molto.

Hi Mansi and thanks for the invitation: I'll take a look at your site.

Thanks, Christine.

Ciao Franz.

[Bruno Lorenzutta]

While at work I suddenly thought of La Befana.. I must have been 6 or 7 years old in Bologna... prior to emigrating to Australia... memories which I would love to experience again... with my aussie kids and grandkids. maybe ... one day.....

[Bruno Lorenzutta]

Sitting at my desk in Sydney Aust.. I suddenly thought of La Befana... I must have been 6 or 7 in Bologna .. where I experienced the joy and fun of La Befana..prior to emigrating to Australia. that was many years ago.. perhaps i can do it again with my kids and grandkids.. one day...

[Simona]

Hi Bruno, thanks for visiting my blog. I think it is a great idea to recreate the Befana tradition with your kids and grandkids. As your childhood experience has remained with you, so it will be with them and the tradition will continue.

[Bruno Lorenzutta]

Ciao Simona

Now that I finally have a connection with Italians, would you or anyone else, guide me to a recipe on gnocchi dolci. My Mum used to make them years ago. I have an incredible urge for them.
Cheers ..Bruno

[Simona]

I have found a couple of recipes. It will be fun to try them, as I have never had gnocchi dolci.