An Italian Legend Celebrated At NHS

By Eliza Hallabeck

An Italian legend took shape in Newtown High School’s Lecture Hall on Wednesday, January 6, as students in two Italian Language classes learned about La Befana.

“Now you have to pretend to you are in Italy, the night between January 5 and January 6, and you are sleeping,” said NHS Italian and French teacher Laura Batisti to students in one of her classes and one of NHS Italian teacher Diana Pistritto’s classes.

Before students watched a video describing the legend of La Befana, three Italian language students — Nicole Kraus, Katie Appley, and Alexis Archer — dressed as the legend herself and delivered presents to a number of students in the class as they “slept” with their heads down in their seats.

The lights in the room were turned off as three stand-in La Befanas handed out such presents as candy and books.

As the students learned from a handout for the day, “Befana, a crotchety old woman, lived in a small village in Italy.”

She was visited by Three Wise Men as they passed her house on their way to Bethlehem in search of a Baby King, according to the handout. Students learned La Befana was invited to go on the journey with the men, but refused to go until she had cleaned her house and baked goods for the baby.

“This took so long that she never caught up with the Wise Men, and never found Bethlehem nor the Baby King,” the handout reads. “Legend says that to this day she continues the search. She is known by all Italian children as the Good Christmas Witch. Each year on the 12th Night, she visits all children in Italy leaving cookies and candies, hoping to find the Child.”