La Befana, the Christmas Witch

On the eve of Epiphany, January 5, Italian children hang up their stockings and wait — not for Santa, but for an old woman on a broomstick. La Befana is Italy's beloved Christmas witch. Her face is sooty from a thousand chimneys, her kerchief is on tight, and she carries sweets and presents for the good children and lumps of coal for the naughty ones — these days the coal is usually black rock candy, which tells you something about how seriously anybody takes the naughty list. In a lot of homes, she also sweeps the floor before she leaves. She's sweeping out the old year's troubles while she's at it.

The story most often told about her is a tender one. The Magi, on their way to Bethlehem, stopped at her house and invited her to come along and see the child. She said no — too busy, there was sweeping to do — and sent them on their way. Then she regretted it. She gathered up gifts, ran after them, and never did catch up. So she flies still, every Epiphany eve, leaving gifts at every house where there's a child, just in case one of them is the one she missed. Her name probably comes from "Epifania" itself, worn smooth by centuries of tongues. And some people see older roots underneath — in the Roman New Year custom of exchanging gifts, and in the winter women who move through a lot of European folklore, like Frau Perchta in the Alps.

She never quite stops being a little bit pagan, and she never stops being welcome in Catholic homes, either — a witch who missed the manger and has been making up for it with kindness for a thousand years. In the Grove: of all the figures on this calendar, she might just be the patron saint of this shop, whether the Church canonizes her or not. Keep sweeping. Keep giving. It's not too late to find what you're looking for.