The 12 nights of the Befana

This is the story of a long journey whose aim was to find a way to restore an imagination to all those children who watch too much television.
It is inspired by the tradition of the Tuscan Befana [an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on the eve before Epiphany, 5th January] and freely integrated with references to various regional Italian and European folklore.

The story and the pictures were taken from the show of the same name, winner in 2005 of the Ribalte di Fantasia prize promoted by the folklore magazine Il Cantastorie, the Fondazione Famiglia Sarzi and the Centro Etnografico Ferrarese. The show made its first appearance in 2002 and its success has encouraged us to publish the story.
The foam rubber puppets and scenery, and all the costumes in the show are made by Patrizia Ascione, while the stories and stage direction are by Stefano Cavallini.
In some regions of Italy, especially in Tuscany, the Befana is not depicted as flying on a broomstick as she is in most of the northern regions and in some northern European countries. Instead she is seen riding a donkey and accompanied by two faithful advisors: a black cat and a white hen.
Have you ever asked yourself how many nights there are between 25th December, Christmas day, and 5th January? There are exactly twelve...
This story recounts what can happen on those nights...