Christmas is officially over for our family. Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany with a visit from La Befana, the old white-haired Christmas witch who left small sweet surprises and little gifts for each of the children. My Italian in-laws carried the tradition from the old country, we continued it with our daughter, and she now she with her children. Along with "hiding the pickle" in the Christmas tree, the Christmas witch is a favorite family tradition. La Befana Italy's traditional celebration includes the tale of a white-haired witch known as La Befana who arrives on her broomstick during the night of January 5 and fills the stockings with toys and sweets for the good children and lumps of coal for the bad ones. According to the legend, the night before the Wise Men arrived at the manger they stopped at the shack of an old woman to ask directions. They invited her to come along but she replied that she was too busy. Then a shepherd asked her to join him but again she refused. Later that night, she saw a great light in the sky and decided to join the Wise Men and the shepherd bearing gifts that had belonged to her child who had died. She got lost and never found the manger. Now La Befana flies around on her broomstick each year on the 11th night, bringing gifts to children in hopes that she might find the Baby Jesus. Children hang their stockings on the evening of January 5 awaiting the visit of La Befana.
"labefana": Now that's a new one he-hebeavis...righthand said "hiding the pickle in the xmas tree"... I hate pinesap, sticks to ma hairy butt....
After the children are all asleep on Christmas eve, it's always my honor as the family matriarch to Hide the Pickle - A pickle ornament that is hidden someplace in the branches of the tree. On Christmas morning, after all the gifts are opened, the room picked up, breakfast eaten, the children search for the pickle. The one who finds it is granted good fortune for the year and wins a prize. We always use a gift certificate because the children are girls and a boy of different ages. As my prize. I am plied with hugs, kisses, and all forms of bribery as the kids try to get me to give them a hint of where I hid the pickle. This goes on for hours.
Sounds like a nice tradition. and there's too few of 'em left; just festivus for the restof us.. hehe hours of" hide the pickle...": move this bastid to the inferno! Sorry I am compelled to go for the cheap joke...
What a wonderful family tradition, RightHand! I'd never heard of it so completely; though I read a bit in our Christmas Around the World book about the witch, they didn't detail the event or mention the pickle. Thank you for sharing it!
