La Befana is 13 inches tall from the tip of her hood to the bottom of her old cape. She is 9 1/2 wide, from the front. She is heavily frosted with vintage mica and German glass glitter.
( I Have a medical mind. I need to see proof of all things. So I grabbed some" glass glitter" and rubbed it between my fingers and cut myself. ) It is glass!
You will see a lot of mica and glitter flying since she is new. After a while this will stop. You must protect any wood or glass table top, from the German glass glitter.
Her apron is an old bed-skirt with colorful embroidery on it. Her hood is made from an antique quilt, that had some good spots left in it. The hood is trimmed with boiled mohair and lambs wool from a vintage sweater. On the mohair trim, I have wired on vintage green mercury glass beads.
Her cape is some faded old red flannel. In her right hand La Befana carries a hand made broom and a handmade feather tree. The feather tree has a vintage pip on the end. The Germans started to make feather trees be caused they were worried about the use of real pine trees dying out. She carries around her rolling pin, to make cookies as she runs out of cookies.
Her corsage, on the left side of the cape is silver, vintage tinsel. The beads and tinsel came La Bafana has a magic key and a old looking jingle bell pinned to her cape. She uses this old key to get into the house of the good boys and girls.
She has some wonderful smelling gingerbread cookies. My favorite also! La Bafana has a sweet heart of gold that she wears over her heart.
*La Bafana is not a toy. It has glass and safety pins on it. This should not be given to a child to play with.
*Hope you enjoy her. She is very well make and there is no reason that she can't last 100 years.
* You can actually buy the, LaBafana Book, off of Amazon. Be sure to get the one by Tomie dePaola.
This is a happier version.
La Befana is the benevolent old woman with magical powers who brings gifts to the children of Italy on the eve of the Epiphany. Like any other legend, there are many versions.La Befana is one of Italy's oldest and most celebrated legends. Each year on January 6 the children of Italy awaken in hopes that La Befana has made a visit to their house. This is a significant day to Italians because it marks the end of the Christmas season and the day that the three Wise Men arrived at the manger of the Christ child. Over the years the Epiphany has been a more celebrated holiday for the children of Italy than even Christmas.
As legend has it the three Wise Men were in search of the Christ child when they decided to stop at a small house to ask for directions. Upon knocking, an old woman holding a broom opened the door slightly to see who was there. Standing at her doorstep were three colorfully dressed men who were in need of directions to find the Christ child.
The old woman was unaware of who these three men were looking for and could not point them in the right direction. Prior to the three men leaving they kindly asked the old woman to join them on their journey.
She declined because she had much housework to do. After they left she felt as though she had made a mistake and decided to go and catch up with the kind men. After many hours of searching she could not find them. Thinking of the opportunity she had missed the old woman stopped every child to give them a small treat in hopes that one was the Christ child.
Each year on the eve of the Epiphany she sets out looking for the baby Jesus. She stops at each child's house to leave those who were good treats in their stockings
Make sure to keep those stockings hung by the chimney in hopes that La Befana will soon be there.
Buona Festa!
Cheers, Dolores Koper
