Talk:Befana

[Untitled]
I have started cleaning up this article, but I could not obtain a good article. It is a mess up of information. There is also some citation of leggend and of a song that in my opinion should be removed AnyFile 16:45, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * Is the Italian song sung by Gianni Morandi a traditional song or an original? If it is under copyright protection the full text of the lyrics should not be posted here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by BigMoose22 (talk • contribs) 16:27, 6 January 2012 (UTC)

I've done a little more clean up and added a few references, in honor of the upcoming Festa della Befana. I also added a reference for the traditional rhyme associated with Befana.Folklore1 (talk) 01:39, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

There is a substantially different story at http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/christmas/epiphany/la_befana.htm

Befana to me is like my santa clause

All Italians?
Just wondering if La Befana is universal with all Christians in Italy or more popular in some regions than others. My grandparents and mother's older siblings are from Felitto, Italy and they had never mentioned this legend to me, ever. In-fact, my family has not had anything to do with La Befana until my mother and cousin saw a "Christmas around the world" display at a local department store and bought a few La Befana figurines to place on the trees. Now, the younger kids in the family are being told the legend of La Befana and the Santa Claus legend like it has been in our family all along (but it hasn't). I am wondering if La Befana isn't that popular in the Campania/Salerno (Felitto) area or if my grandparents just dropped La Befana and replaced her with Santa in an attempt to Americanize their children (my mom, aunts, and uncles). Any thoughts on this would be helpful as I am trying to decide if I should now introduce La Befana to my daughter who is on her second Christmas. Also, for the article, it would be interesting to know if La Befana is a regional legend (possibly corresponding with the regional dialects?) or if she is an all Italian legend. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.224.0.83 (talk) 17:09, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

I've gotten the impression that the tradition of Befana has spread more through Italy. I think the custom may have originated around Rome. One source (cited by the article) says the legend of Befana dates back to the 13th century, but doesn't say what area.Folklore1 (talk) 01:43, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

etymology
The entry says that "Befana" means "giver of gifts." That is in error, I believe. Most sources derive the word from "epiphania," from the Greek, meaning "to manifest" or "to show". The day of the Epiphany is celebrated in Italy on January 6th, the so-called 12th day of Christmas, the day on which Jesus was revealed as the Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi, the three Wise Men.

Besides the link mentioned above, there is another at [this URL].


 * I removed the "giver of gifts" thing, and changed shoes to socks (the article said socks are filled with candies, socks are). The article currently also says that sausages, broccoli and wine are left for her. I wonder if it is a regional tradition, I doubt that it is used in all of Italy. 213.140.21.231 22:59, 5 January 2006 (UTC)


 * The bit about broccoli and sausage are surely regional, even local. Wine is more commonly referenced, though.   Mind  matrix  00:28, 6 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Rather than leaving broccoli and sausage, people usually leave something to eat for the donkey she has. --Stefano 17:38, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Melbourne Australia
In Carlton, an inner suburb of Melbourne with a strong Italian presence, there has been a La Befana festival on Jan 6 for at least the last three or four years maybe longer. A La Befana play is performed and the the lady herself wanders around the crowd distributing sweets. I got the impression that the people running it were old socialists, the play had a soft left flavour, but the event is supported by the local business association. The birth of Christ is treated as a major incident in La Befana's life rather than as the beginnning. I'll ask more questions this year. 203.214.68.40 (talk) 08:32, 27 December 2007 (UTC) Signed...Jeremy (talk) 08:34, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Correct Spelling
It's not La Befana, but just Befana. La is just an article. So La_Befana, has a wikipedia item, is wrong. Just 'Befana' would be better —Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.20.254.159 (talk) 20:38, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Move?

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Unopposed move - page moved.  Ron h jones (Talk) 00:14, 15 March 2010 (UTC)

La Befana → Befana — User:151.20.235.128 23:14, 25 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm not opposing the move but almost all of the English references for the article use "La Befana". —   AjaxSmack   01:00, 27 February 2010 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

An old hag ....? Not very Christmas...a distortion ?
An old hag ....? Not very Christmas...a distortion ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.79.147.13 (talk) 05:25, 25 December 2018 (UTC)

Widespread tradition
Who said it was not widespread until 20th century? It was — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.40.211.83 (talk) 20:55, 5 January 2021 (UTC)