The Story of La Befana

                                                       The Story of La Befana 

Yesterday we talked about both the Epiphany and La Befana. I loved seeing so many comments saying, “Yes! I remember,” or “Yes, we still do this too,” or sharing memories of their mom, their nonna, and their families. This is exactly why I do what I do. I love seeing traditions and memories reawakened, shared, and carried forward.

We all have our own way of doing things, and that doesn’t mean one way is more right than another. Italy’s history is rich and layered, and so are its folklore, traditions, and memories. Today, I want to tell you the story of La Befana.

So before the folklore gets debated or simplified, here is the story as it has been passed down through generations.

La Befana is one of Italy’s oldest folkloric figures, and her story is tied to January 6th, the day of the Epiphany.

According to legend, the Three Kings stopped at the home of an old woman while traveling to Bethlehem. She welcomed them, offered food and warmth, but declined their invitation to join the journey. Later, she regretted her decision. She gathered gifts and went searching for the Christ child, hoping to find him.

She never did.

Instead, she is said to visit children every year on the night before Epiphany, leaving sweets for those who have been good and coal for those who have not. In this way, she continues her search, carrying both generosity and regret with her.

Many of us grew up hearing "La Befana Vien di Notte" sung or recited at home on the night before Epiphany. It’s a simple children’s rhyme, passed down more by memory than by music:

La Befana vien di notte
con le scarpe tutte rotte,
col cappello alla romana,
viva viva la Befana!

For many families, this rhyme was just part of the evening. Not a lesson, not a debate, just something familiar that lived alongside the tradition itself

This is why La Befana is connected to Epiphany. Not as theology, but as symbolism.

She is often described as a witch, but in Italian folklore she is closer to a grandmother figure. Her worn clothes, broom, and headscarf reflect age, time, and transition. The broom is not about magic. It symbolizes sweeping away the old year to make room for the new.

Like many European traditions, La Befana carries traces of older seasonal imagery that predate Christianity. Over time, those elements were absorbed into the Christian calendar rather than erased. By the Middle Ages, La Befana had become firmly associated with Epiphany throughout Italy, with regional variations in how she is remembered and celebrated.

She is known across the country. In some places there are markets and festivals. In others, she is a quiet tradition at home. Variation is part of Italian folklore. It has never meant exclusion.

What Italians understand instinctively is this distinction.
The Epiphany belongs to faith.
La Befana belongs to folklore.

They coexist because Italian culture has always been comfortable holding more than one layer of meaning at the same time.

La Befana endures because she is human. She represents regret, generosity, and the hope that it is never too late to do something kind.

L’Epifania tutte le feste porta via, but her story leaves something behind. A reminder that tradition does not need to be literal to be meaningful. Like so many Italian traditions, her story continues to be passed down, remembered, and quietly kept alive.