In Italian Christmas folklore, La Befana is the gift-bringing figure who visits children on the night before Epiphany.
According to the popular legend, the Three Wise Men invited an old woman to accompany them to visit Jesus. She declined because she was busy, then regretted her decision and set out carrying gifts. Unable to find the child, she gives presents to children she visits along the way.
La Befana is traditionally said to travel on a broom and enter homes through the chimney. Children may receive sweets or small gifts if they have behaved well, while misbehaving children may receive pieces of coal or similarly symbolic items.
Her visit takes place during the night of 5–6 January, linking the folklore to the Christian Feast of the Epiphany. She is not simply another name for Santa Claus.