The Legend of Befana

The legend of Befana: When the three Magi came bearing gifts of gold, myrrh and incense, for the newborn Jesus every village they passed through villagers would run to join there journey, all except for one woman, Befana, she claimed she was too busy and that she would join when she had less work to do. Without realizing her mistake she continued her house chores. The next morning she awoke frantically finally realizing the mistake she has made, she runs to join the magi still holding her broom but they where already gone. Since then shes been known as "La Befana" or "Befana" for short, she delivers toys for little boys and girls on the eve of Epiphany, January 6. Children prepare for a late night visit from Befana by hanging up stockings above the hearth. Good children will receive treats and goodies in there socks, while naughty children will receive coal, onions, and garlic. 

I think that the legend of Befana is very sweet and very similar to our Christmas. I think it adds a nice touch of holiday spirit to begin the year with. The legend gives out a message to always give back and own up to your mistakes by doing something nice.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why people paint there nails

  India Riley Mr.Roddy IHSS 28 November, 2020 Why people paint their nails:     The act of painting ones nails is thought to have originated in 3000 B.C. Egypt, but actually painting nails dates all the way back to Ancient China. In China the color of your nails determined where you stood in the social ranking. The polish was made of beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, gum Arabic, and vegetable dyes. In China the color nails that determined their social standpoint is Black and Red. Although later in 600 B.C. in the Zhou Dynasty the colors that determined royalty were gold and silver.     This was also true for the Egyptians, but instead red meant great importance. Queen Nefertiti painted her fingernails and toenails ruby red. Cleopatra preferred a deep rusted red, but later in life grew to favor a bright and vibrant red. Painting nails was also common for warriors of great importance, Egyptian, Babylonian, and early Roman commanders spent hours painting thei...
Read more

The Woman With Lip Plates

The woman with lip plates: Around the Omo river, a tribe known as the Murai is known for having there woman get large plates or discs inserted in their lips. From the ages of, 15-18 young girls will get their bottom lip pierced by a stick. As time goes on, the stick will increasingly get larger until a small disc is placed instead, each year, a bigger disc is placed. For the disc to be placed on the girl's bottom, two teeth need to be removed for more comfort. These discs are made of either wood or clay, with a unique design on each disc. Discs were often remade and replaced due to them breaking quite often. The discs where to be worn at all times when in the presence of males, with the exception of eating and sleeping. When the disc was removed, the bottom lip would dangle onto the chin. This tradition started back during the African slave trade; villagers decided to make the woman less presentable towards the traders for them to stop stealing them.  Although they were told that i...
Read more