La Befana
This is a Christmas witch who delivers gifts to children, and comes from Italian folklore. She appears after the Yule feasts have done, when Santa has returned home after travelling all over, and in the New Year, around the 6th January, La Befana does her magical detour. She drops presents down chimneys, and is treated as a welcome and loveable guest by everyone. Wine, cookies milk, sausage and broccoli. is put aside for her just as it is for Santa.
This might be the friendliest, and not creepiest character so far. There is a dark side to her. While Santa travels on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, Befana uses a broomstick to fly around. Befana dislikes being noticed, and anyone who looks at her will be punished, by getting a whack across the face by the broomstick! So if anyone witnesses her, look away. The background to her, in many sources, is that Befana lived over 2000 years ago and was grieving the loss of her son. She then turned to witchcraft and magic. La Befana believed that the birth of Jesus was her son reincarnated. Some say that she gave all of her son's belongings to Jesus, and in return, Jesus blessed Befana with the gift of being loved by children for many years on.
It's also believed that La Befana might be the Sabine goddess Strenua, a goddess of the new year who gave gifts to many. Despite the title of this post, La Befana is benign and sounds like a sweet elderly lady. I think this is a really nice "creepy character".
She Wolf Night group
No comments:
Post a Comment