Befana or "La Befana" is a friendly character in Italian folklore, similar to Santa Claus. Her name means 'giver of gifts', and she visits all the children in Italy on January 6 to fill their stockings with candy if they are good or a lump of coal if they are bad. The child's family will always leave a plate of broccoli and spicy sausage plus a small glass of wine for Befana. A classic image of Santa Claus. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... A shelf filled with candies Candy is often used as a synonym for the more general term confectionery in North America, whereas the word has become archaic in most parts of the United Kingdom and survives today almost exclusively in the term candy floss. In some areas, notably Scotland, candy... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by deep mining, coal mining (open-pit mining or strip mining). ... Cultivar Group Brassica oleracea Italica Group Broccoli is a plant of the Cabbage family, Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae). ... Chinese pork sausages A sausage consists of ground meat (and sometimes other animal parts), herbs and spices, and possibly other ingredients, generally packed in a casing (traditionally the intestines of the animal, though now often synthetic), and preserved in some way, often by curing or smoking. ... Wine is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting grapes or grape juice. ...

She is usually portrayed as an old lady, riding a broomstick through the air. Unlike a witch though, she is often smiling and she has a bag or a hamper filled with candy and/or gifts. This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ...

Legend has it that La Befana was approached by the 3 Magi on the night of Christ's birth. They asked her for directions, to which she was of no help. Later, Befana had a change of heart, and tried to search out for the magi and the Christ child. That night she was not able to find them, so to this day, La Befana is searching for the Christ child. She leaves all the good children toys and candy, while the bad children get coal; for she never knows who might be Jesus!