Mother Christmas

On the last day before Martello had to return to the daily grind, we took the opportunity to sleep and start the post-vacation catch up on mail, e-mail, laundry, etc. January 6^th is the day of the Epiphany (when the wise men came to Jesus bearing gifts), or locally, La Befana.  Befana is a feminine take on Santa Claus (and they say that Italy's all about machismo!). This character (who may possibly be pagan or Celtic in origin) actually makes a lot more sense than Santa Claus. She’s a witch carrying a broom and she’s covered with soot, since she’s been going up and down chimneys all night. (It’s also a nice touch that instead of milk and cookies, she gets wine and local cuisine; you just gotta love the Italians! Plus, she’s low maintenance. No reindeer.)

Trofie Wife was eager to check out this Befana character for herself, so I attempted to get to centro in time for the celebration (this little town celebrates everything in that square!), which was vaguely scheduled for the “afternoon.” Well, it was uncharacteristically cold, so I dawdled in leaving the apartment, and by the time I arrived, it was clear that the celebration was over. I did, however, catch two Befanas at the end of their shift and saw some evidence of animal balloon art.

Here’s a little ditty about La Befana:

http://video.libero.it/app/play?id=a9fe96587d4130cc6855931ae5c41190

To cap off our vacation, Martello and I ordered some pizza d’asporto (take out!), which we verily enjoyed in the comfort of our casa. We then set the alarm and got ready to return to the new normal.  

Baci e gelato,

Martello e Trofie Wife