During the night between the 5th and 6th of January, Italian children wait for the Befana.  She is an old woman with a long nose and a pointy chin who leaves, in socks put up for her, candy and toys for well-behaved children - and coal for the bad ones. Wise children make sure they leave an orange and a glass of wine for the good old lady!

In the Christian tradition, the story of the Befana is closely linked to that of the Magi - Balthazar, Gaspar, and Melchior.  According to legend, on their long journey to Bethlehem to pay homage to Jesus and unable to find their way, they asked for information from an old woman who showed them the route. The Magi invited the woman to join them, but she refused. Once the Three Kings had departed, she regretted not having gone along and so she packed a sack full of sweets and started looking for them. Without success, even to this day, the old lady knocks on every door, giving each child she meets some sweets in the hope that one of them is the Baby Jesus.

The day the Magi arrived to the newborn Jesus Christ is called Epiphany.  In every Italian town there are events connected to the Epiphany and the arrival of the Befana. In fact, the derivation of the word Befana is believed to have come from the Italian for Epiphany: Festa dell’Epifania.

On the day of Epiphany in Veneto you will often see the “Panevin” fires. Although originally set at Christmas to light the way of the Wise Men to Jesus,

it now occurs on Epiphany, and has become a spectacle around which people gather to sample the traditional “Pinza” cake and enjoy a glass of the hot spiced wine, Vin Brulé. These fires are lit throughout Veneto as good omens - the flames symbolize the disruptive force of the new that burns away the old. The direction of the smoke is the way to find out the trend of the new year - whether it will be lucky…or not.