Befana at the School, according to the Italian tradition 

In the Italian tradition, on the night between the 5th and 6th January, the Befana, an old woman boards onto a broom, bringing sweets to the children who are well behaved and coal to those who have behaved badly. The feast of the Epiphany has very ancient origins linked to the pagan propitiatory rites that celebrated the end of the seasonal cycle twelve days after the winter solstice (Yule). The ancient Romans then inherited these rituals by celebrating the death and rebirth of Mother Nature in these twelve nights, believing that female figures, probably linked to the goddesses Diana and Strenia, flew over the cultivated fields to propitiate future crops.

With the advent of Christianity, the feast of the Epiphany was associated with the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem twelve nights after Christmas. Myth has it that the Three Wise Men, unable to find the way, asked for information to an old woman who showed them the way. They then invited the woman to join them, but the old woman refused. Once the Three Wise Men were gone, she regretted not having followed them and so she packed a sack full of sweets for Baby Jesus and started to look for them, but did not succeed. The old woman, therefore, began to knock on every door, giving each child she met some sweets, in the hope that one of them was Baby Jesus. The feast of the Epiphany is widespread in many countries such as Spain, France, Germany, Russia, Iceland, Hungary and Romania, each with its own traditions. Happy Epiphany to all.