A Christmas Witch: La Befana and Celebrating Epiphany in Italy

 

Figure 1: Actors depicting the Three Wise Men in an Italian Epiphany Parade (Source: Ruffner 1)

According to Christians, Jesus was born on December 25, but the Three Wise Men did not arrive with their gifts to commemorate his birth until 12 days later, on January 6.  This day is known as Epiphany, which is celebrated in various ways among some cultural groups.  For Italians, it is an important national holiday wherein businesses close and large community wide festivities commence.  Italians are entertained by parades full of marching bands, performers, the “Three Wise Men,” and La Befana, popularly referred to as Italy’s Christmas witch (Figures 1 & 2).  Yes, a Christmas witch, but unlike what may come to mind La Befana is a benevolent individual who plays an important role in Italian folklore and culture.  This blog post will explain more about La Befana.

 

La Befana reportedly dates to the 8^th century, but her name was first recorded in 1549.  It is believed that La Befana is a derivative of the Greek word “epiphany”, which coincides with her relationship with this sacred holiday.  According to Italian folklore La Befana was an old, impoverished woman who paid a kindness to the Three Wise Men as they journeyed to Bethlehem to receive baby Jesus.  There are variations on the legend.  One claims she allowed the men stay in her home free of charge for a night, but another says that she merely gave them what little food she had to spare, some water, and directions to their destination.  They encouraged her to join them on their journey, but La Befana, the devoted housekeeper, declined, citing the need to keep her house clean.  Shortly after the men left, she realized that she made a mistake.  She loaded up a collection of fruit to gift baby Jesus and grabbed her broom as she began her trek to catch up with the Three Wise Men.  Ultimately, she failed to catch up to them, but she visited various homes along the way, giving the children in the home a gift in case one of them was the newborn babe she was looking for.  She continues this trek annually, starting on the night of January 5, in hopes of fulfilling her mission of meeting the men and ultimately Jesus.

 

Figure 2: La Befana Figurines (Source: Ruffner 1)

 

Scholars believe that the tale of La Befana has deeper roots and a longer history among Italians.  It may have been a carry over of an old Pagan tradition wherein an entity associated with Mother Nature was celebrated at the end of December.  As Italians converted to Christianity they appropriated this important pagan deity into their new Christian rituals associated with Jesus and Epiphany. 

 

Today, La Befana is considered a cherished cultural symbol and her acts of kindness replicated within Italian homes.  She is depicted as an old woman with a crooked nose, rags of a dress, and a long scarf that she wears to cover her grey hair and keep her warm.  Throughout the night before Epiphany La Befana flies from house to house, entering the homes through either a keyhole or a chimney.  Families are expected to leave a glass of wine (to keep her warm), as well as some sausage and broccoli, reportedly her favorite foods that she eats to sustain her on her journey.  The morning of January 6 is welcomed by children who awake to see what La Befana left them.  Good children are traditionally gifted dried fruits and candy, whereas naughty children are left coal (a tradition similar to the German St. Nicholas custom). 

 

While La Befana remains an important cultural symbol throughout Italy, demonstrating a mixture of old and new traditions, customs, and values, there continues to be changes in how she is celebrated.  There are large scale La Befana festivals throughout the country, with the largest being celebrated in the city of Urbania.  Throughout the day of Epiphany (January 6) people celebrate the Three Wise Men and La Befana, the latter of whom is commemorated through the consumption of her favorite foods and drink throughout the day.  There has also been an element of commercialization of La Befana that has crept into the holiday.  Vendors sell a variety of La Befana figurines and goods, and children no longer receive small gifts of fruit and candy but instead larger gifts, like what you would expect under an American Christmas tree.

 

Works Cited

Correale, Marta. "La Befana: the story of Italy’s Christmas witch." 1 June 2016. Learning Escapes. Electronic. 24 November 2024.

Giglio, Von Michael. "Taking Flight with Italy's Holiday Witch." Spiegel International 12 December 2008. Electronic.

No Author. "La Befana: The Italian Christmas Witch." n.d. House of Good Fortune. Electronic. 24 November 2024.

Ruffner, Allison. "Italy: La Befana." 2017. University of Delaware Abroad Blog. Electronic. 24 November 2024.

 

For Luck and Money: Exploring an African American New Year’s Day Tradition

New Year's Day Meal: Collard Greens, Ham, and Black-Eyed Peas

 

As previously discussed on this blog there has been a problem erasing the role of African Americans in Southern traditions by simply referring to Black cultural traditions as being Southern.  This commonly happens with African American cuisine, such as was the case with Soul Food being referred to as Southern comfort foods or cuisine.  It is important to recognize, however, the role of African American cultural traditions in the greater American Southern identity, as well as the contributions of White Southerners in the shaping of some African American traditions.  This is very much present in the African American New Year’s tradition of eating collard greens, pork, and black-eyed peas.

 

It is common among African American households to make and eat a dish made up of collard greens, pork (traditionally ham hocks), and black-eyed peas on New Years Day.  The reason these foods are eaten is because of what two of the ingredients represent.  Collard greens represent money, and black-eyed peas represent good luck and prosperity.  Taken together, it is believed that the consumption of these foods will bring about financial security and good fortune to the consumers throughout the New Year.  The inclusion of pork in the meal is often written off as a means of flavoring the other ingredients, but it, along with the meaning of the meal, demonstrates a merging of European and West African traditions. 

 

When West Africans were kidnapped and enslaved in the Americas they brought with them their cultural ways, which they prohibited by force from practicing.  It is very difficult, however, to fully stop anyone from continuing their culture completely since it is such an integral part of one’s identity and behaviors, leading to the result of enslaved Blacks continuing with their culture in often altered ways.  These alterations were either forced upon enslaved Blacks or the outcome of intentional or unintentional cultural diffusion, according to food historian Adrian Miller. 

 

This explains the creation of the New Year’s Day culinary tradition of consuming collard greens, pork, and black-eyed peas.  Europeans would consume a leafy vegetable, such as kale or cabbage, on New Year’s Day as a means of bringing about good luck in the new year.  Italians would consume lentils cooked with pork because lentils represented coins, thereby ensuring financial success in the new year.  West Africans reportedly did not have any specific New Year’s Day traditions.  They did, however, have beliefs tied to black-eyed peas, which they brought to the Americas in the 1600s.  They believed the consumption of black-eyed peas prevented attacks from evil spirits, and it was commonplace to consume black-eyed peas on holidays.  Enslaved Blacks observed European immigrants’ New Years traditions and adopted it as part of their own traditions, making some notable changes to accommodate the foods they had access to.  These included collard greens (a substitution for kale or cabbage), pieces of pork that White slave owners did not want (e.g., pork feet), and their own black-eyed peas. 

 

As time went on European immigrants to the US assimilated to American culture, abandoning their New Year’s Day meal traditions, but African Americans continued theirs.  Today, many people will say that this meal is a traditional Southern (American) meal, but it is one that was born from the unification of distinct cultural traditions.  Its abandonment by European immigrants and adoption and continuation among African Americans is an important aspect that should be acknowledged and remembered.

 

Works Cited

Foster, Alexandra. "Why We Eat Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens on New Year’s Day." Food Network 2 December 2023. Electronic.

Hagwood, Kayland. "Why people make black-eyed peas for New Year's." WCNC 31 December 2023. Electronic.

Stewart, Kayla. "Tracing the Origins of a Black American New Year’s Ritual." New York Times 24 December 2021. Electronic.

 

Weaving Old and New Traditions Together: Eastern European Christmas Spider Tradition

Spider ornament in a Christmas tree (Source: Manor College)

 

Love them or hate them, spiders play an important role in native ecosystems and in cultural traditions throughout time and around the world.  From their role as scary creepy crawlies in Western Halloween traditions to the iconic tale of Charlotte who used her web to save Wilbur the pig there is a wide diversity in the folklore and tales about spiders.  This blog post will bring your attention to yet another one that you may not be familiar with: the role of spiders in Christmas traditions among Eastern European populations.

 

Commonly referred to as the “Ukrainian Christmas Spider” the use of spiders and their webs as part of Christmas traditions exists throughout Eastern European populations.  It is customary on Christmas Eve to construct spider figurines from straw and hang them from the ceiling.  Alternatively, individuals may place a spider ornament in their Christmas tree or, according to several journalistic sources, they hang tinsel off the tree’s branches.  The claim is that the tinsel represents the spider’s webs. 

 

These may seem like strange customs, but they are rooted in long-standing traditions and values that have existed for thousands of years.  It is believed that these favorable ideas concerning spiders existed in pre-Christian beliefs, which today are often referred to as folk beliefs. It is unknown what specifically led to the cherishment of spiders, but they have and continue to be viewed as messengers of good news and protectors of the homes and families they dwell alongside.  As these groups adopted Christianity as their primary faith the meaning of the spider transformed and was integrated into Christian beliefs and values. 

 

This has led to a variety of legends concerning the importance of spiders, particularly at Christmas time.  There are several that center around a central theme of poverty and acts of kindness.  Several legends claim that a poor woman sought to provide her children a nice Christmas by acquiring a Christmas tree that she could not afford to decorate.  In the process of getting the tree the woman and/or her children encounter a spider, which they allow to live in the tree.  It repays this kind act by decorating the tree with its cobwebs, which sparkle either naturally or from the sun’s rays hitting them and lighting up the tree.  An alternative legend speaks of spiders who fall in love with a well decorated tree.  The spiders explore the bedazzled tree, but they accidentally leave behind dusty cobwebs. When Santa Clause arrives to deliver the presents to the family he turns the dusty cobwebs into silver and gold tinsel.  A final legend is rooted in Christian beliefs by asserting it was a spider who saved the Holy Family from King Herod’s soldiers, who were tasked with killing baby Jesus.  In this legend the family flees into a cave and a spider seals it in with a thick web, which confuses the soldiers as they believe no one could have entered or survived in that cave and thus sparing the family and Jesus from harm.

 

While it is unclear what led to the Christmas spider tradition it continues to this day among various Eastern European groups and their descendants.  It is a nice tradition that demonstrates the continuity of cultural values throughout time, as well as showcases how core values remain in tact although changed slightly to accommodate changes in the culture.

 

Works Cited

Brown, Wizzie. "The Legend of the Christmas Spider." 21 December 2018. Texas A & M AgriLife Extension. Electronic. 23 November 2024.

Iatsenko, G., Ishchuk, A., & Shcherbakova, N. (2020). Dialogue of generations as communicative dimension of bread culture semantics in the Ukrainian sacral tradition. Journal of History Culture and Art Research,, 9(4), 333-344.

Manor College. "Christmas Spiders? Here’s More on a Ukrainian Holiday Tradition." 15 December 2021. Manor College. Electronic. 23 November 2024.

Natalia, Roman. "Usage of folk crafts of Slobozhanshchyna during preschool children education." Current issues of science and integrated technologies (2023): 10-13.

 

Spotlight on Students: Thinking Like An Archaeologist

 Thinking like an archaeologist is one of the most challenging exercises a novice or inexperienced person can do, including beginner archaeologists.  For one of the SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology assignments students were tasked with doing just that.  By viewing the familiar as the unfamiliar they gained important insights into the challenges archaeologists face, and several of them did exceptionally well in the exercise.  Here is a student's piece that was eligible for and agreed to be published.

 

Figure 1: Site Map (Johnson, A)

 

By: Alexander Johnson

In the year 2082, the world was ravaged by disease. Efforts to repair humanity have been underway for about fifteen years. I was always an adventurer at heart, so my way of helping is through documenting and relearning the old world. I work with the guild of Rebirth Anthropology; my team was assigned to one of Old America’s states. We are unsure of which one, since we come from Old Europe, but someone called it USA24 so I am going with that. One site I have chosen to analyze is a room on the third floor of a large building. I chose to write more extensively on this room because it is so different from the rest of the building, not to mention other nearby buildings.

Firstly, I will offer a description of the room. Starting with its shape, imagine a rectangle, and add one equilateral triangle to both of the short sides. At least 70% of the room is on the same plane, but the northern most side has a rising set of stairs. This side of the room is only slightly more elevated than the other side. The stairs do not lead anywhere. The eastern wall is the only one with windows, but there are two in the ceiling on the south side. The whole thing is about 28 feet long, and 11 feet wide. The ceiling is about 17 feet tall. 

The room is full of artifacts. On the north side, there are four sealed containers. The containers are transparent, so the artifacts can be seen but not handled. There are two types. The rectangular ones are about 3.5 feet tall, 2.5 feet long, and 1.5 feet wide. The other type is a square, also 3.5 feet tall, but 1.5 feet wide on every side. In the center of the room, there are three more of these containers. There are also three depictions of smiling men, each having only a chest and head but no arms. Two of the men are in front of windows, and the third is by the entrance. Also, near the entrance, there are six tables all placed together to create a large one, and there are nine chairs on both long sides. Straight across from the door on the opposite wall, in the middle of the room, is a painting. On the southern side of the room, there are three more sealed transparent containers. There are also four more sealed containers on this side. They are still transparent but made of a different main material. They stand twice as tall as all the other sealed artifacts but about the same width and length. There are two on the east side and two on the West side, with the placement mirroring each other. All the containers in the room have different objects inside, and many have paper with what may be a description of the thing(s) inside. 

I find the depictions of smiling men to be the most interesting. As I said before, there are three of them. One by the door, and the other two are in front of a window. Each of them only has a chest and up and no arms. They rise to about 4 feet tall and are 1.4 feet wide. They are all made of the same material, which appears to be metal. They are brown, and there are lots of details on the busts. One can see where their clothes crease and where their faces wrinkle. Also, each of them rests on a black cube. The cubes have no inscription, so I am unsure how these men would be identified. Perhaps the locals would recognize them without the need for it. I do not believe they are warriors, due to the lack of arms to hold weapons, lack of armor, and the smiling faces. Considering the number of them, I do not believe they were the builders of the room or the rest of the building either. Due to the detail in the busts, I do believe these are/were real people. It is unclear if they are wearing the exact same outfit, since they all are made of only one color, but the clothes do look similar. The faces are too different for me to believe they are siblings, but there is a possibility that they are all related. The faces also suggest the men are of different ages. None of them are young (20s), but none are elderly (60+).

The site also has me wondering about the six tables and eighteen chairs. Especially since one large table could be placed there instead. The entrance is big enough for that. All the tables and chairs are made of the same material as well. The number of chairs placed so close to each other at such a large “table” suggests to me that this is a place for equals to converse. No chairs stand alone at an end to represent power, nor do any have any decorations or marks that would differentiate it. Both the chairs and tables are simply designed as well. However, maybe this is the room at rest. If it was in use, the tables could be split up and groups could be formed. Especially since there is a relatively empty space on the southern side. 

All the sealed containers have piqued my interest, but especially the ones that are slightly raised on the north side. The highest one is full of papers, but since most of the meaning is in the writing, I cannot tell what is significant about it. However, there are two images of men, one image of a nearby building, two images with people in motion inside a building, and a picture with 36 people all smiling at the camera. The other three raised containers are on the same level. One has ceramic cups and plates of various sizes. This one also has three images of men, one by each cup. I failed to inspect these images, so there is a possibility that they are the three men on the busts. However, there is another container with the same type of objects, with three more images. There are two men and one woman. None of which were on the busts, so I do not believe the other set of images relate to it. Finally, there is a square container in between the other two, that contains three heads. They are made of the same material as the busts, but they are three different men. There is a small paper with writing near each of the heads, which I assume to be the identifiers.

I believe this room is a site for competition. Firstly, I believe the statues are previous winners, considering they are all smiling and the similar clothes. This can also explain why it would be redundant to have nameplates on the busts, as the locals would probably be talking about the competitions extensively. Secondly, the table that can be split into six. Perhaps this is where they are briefed before and/or after the event. During the competition, these would be split up from one another. Also, considering three chairs could go to one table each that may relate back to the three images of people within two of the containers. These may be the team event winners, with the statues being individual winners. As for the objects alongside the images, maybe it was used as a trophy, or it was an aspect of the game. I believe it is important that these are on the raised side of the room. The fact that these are above the individual winners may represent this society’s collectivism.

When I first started the assignment, I thought it would be easy; how wrong I was. In my own experience, I was constantly asking, “Would I assume X if I didn’t have prior knowledge?”, “Is it ethnocentric to say X”, “Am I giving this artifact a connotation by using this word?”. This made it difficult to actually get started. In this project I did not have the ability to speak the language, nor a chance at learning it and coming back. It also would have been nice to consult people who already understood the room. However, this comes with its own challenges as well. Relationships need to be built between anthropologists and the people that live near or on site so that they can gain access (Lahka, 1). Language barriers can make this more difficult. Not to mention, learning a language does not mean it will be easy to communicate with other fluent speakers. They will have accents, slang, and may treat you as an outsider. However, anthropologists have reliable methods to avoid doing harm and being ethnocentric. They employ “open communication to ensure that the research process respects the unique perspectives and values of the studied communities” (Lahka, 1).

Works Cited

Lahka, S. Overcoming Anthropological Challenges: Common Problems and Solutions. Spires. https://spires.co/online-anthropology-tutors/undergraduate/overcoming-anthropological-challenges-common-problems-and-solutions