talian children experience an abundance of gift giving during the Christmas season. Not only do they receive a visit from Santa but less than two weeks later they are given gifts from La Befana, a friendly witch who leaves presents in their stockings on the eve of Epiphany every January.
Since more than 90% of Italy’s population identifies themselves as Catholic, holidays here are aligned closely with Catholicism. Epiphany is a public Catholic holiday that falls on Jan. 6, marking the end of the Christmas season and the day the three wise men visited Jesus with gifts.