Meeting Befana

January 6th marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as the day of Epiphany. In Italy – and in Italian communities around the world - this occurrence is also known as “Befana”.

La Befana is a character in Italian folklore who delivers presents to children throughout Italy, in a similar way to Santa Claus. In popular folklore Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of January 6th, and fills their socks with candy and presents if they are good, or a lump of coal or dark candy if they are bad.

Being a good housekeeper, many say she will sweep the floor before she leaves. The child's family typically leaves a small glass of wine and a plate with a few morsels of food for the Befana. She is usually portrayed as an old lady riding a broomstick through the air wearing a black shawl. She is often smiling and carries a bag filled with candy, gifts, or both.

Christian legend has it that La Befana was approached by the Magi (or Three Kings), a few days before Christ's birth. They asked for directions to where the baby Jesus was, but she did not know. She provided them with shelter for a night, as she was considered the best housekeeper in the village with the most pleasant home. They invited her to join them on the journey to find the baby Jesus, but she declined, stating she was too busy with her housework. Later, La Befana had a change of heart, and tried to search out the astrologers and Jesus. That night she was not able to find them, so to this day, La Befana is searching for the baby Jesus. She leaves all the good children toys and candy, while the bad children get coal or bags of ashes.In the center of Rome, in Piazza Navona, a popular market, the Fiera della Befana takes place each year between Christmas and the Epiphany. There toys, sugar, “charcoal” and candies are sold for the Roman children.

In other parts of the world where a vibrant Italian community exists, traditions involving La Befana may be observed and shared or celebrated with the wider community. In Toronto (CA), for example, a Befana Choir shows up on Winter Solstice each December to sing in the Kensington Market Festival of Lights parade. Women, men, and children dressed in La Befana costume and nose sing love songs to serenade the sun to beckon its return. The singing hags gather in the street to give candy to children, to cackle and screech to accordion music, and to sing in every key imaginable as delighted parade participants join in the cacophony. Sometimes, the Befanas dance with parade goers and dust down the willing as parade goers walk by.

Some of this information was found on Wikipedia.com.

Have a Joyful New Year!

Good morning everybody, and a joyful New Year to you and your families!

As 2010 has finally opened the doors to a whole new chapter, let's do our best to focus our energy on ushering in the right guests. With the hardship many have encountered in 2009, it is normal to feel a little apprehensive and discouraged, but we should at least try to invest our efforts and thoughts on the things we want, rather than on those we don't want in our lives.

As we peek our heads out and greet the newly born 2010, I wish all of you a joyful New Year instead than a happy one. Happiness is dependable on the influence of external factors, and it fluctuates with the winds of fate; joy is a stable refuge in the midst of the storm, and nothing can dim its light.

So, have a joyful New Year, and as someone posted on my profile on a different site, may 2010 be a wonderful new journey, one we won't travel alone but as one.

Once in a Blue Moon

In recent times, we have come to identify a blue moon as the second moon in a month, but according to earlier definitions, including one from The Farmers’ Almanac released 150 years ago, a blue moon is the third moon in a season of four moons. Some years count 13 full moons instead of 12, but since the identity of the moons was important in the ecclesiastical calendar (the Paschal Moon, to cite one, used to be crucial for determining the date of Easter), a year with a thirteenth moon upset the calendar, since there were names for only 12 moons. By identifying the thirteenth moon as a blue moon, the ecclesiastical calendar remained the same.

The idea of a "calendar month" is a relatively recent concept, as months were originally measured by the period between lunar cycles, creating a Lunar Calendar of some 13 months per year (the word "month" comes from "moon"). A cultural revolution took place in the Classical Period, when the ancient rule of the lunar goddesses was replaced by the rule of the sun gods, with 12 months connected to the 12 signs of the Zodiac. In the ancient Lunar Calendars, including the now frequently discussed Mayan Calendar, time was measured according to moon cycles, change of seasons and the period between equinoxes and solstices.

Our current Gregorian calendar system dates from the time of Pope Gregory in the 16th century. The pre-Gregorian calendar was the Julian calendar (the Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar, came up with the idea of standardizing the chaotic Roman calendar in 47 BC). Many cultures, including the Protestant and the Orthodox, were suspicious of such popery and did not adopt this new system until later (even now the Julian calendar is still in use in parts of the Orthodox Church). However, it was in 1582 that the Gregorian calendar was adopted in Rome, Spain, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. And it wasn't until 1752 that England adopted the new Gregorian calendar.

There are two interesting facts connected to this particular blue moon; for one, the moon will be in the constellation of Cancer - the sign of the Mother, home and family, symbolizing a shift of energy toward the feminine heart center; the second fact is that a partial eclipse will also take place, although it will not be visible in the US since it will occur at approximately 2:13pm EST. Traditionally, moon eclipses are considered a time of rest, during which we release what we no longer need. We might consider releasing feelings and habits that no longer serve us, old perceptions of security and illusions of power.

The New Year is ringing in with a pretty powerful celestial cocktail, just in time to make a special wish when we click champagne flutes at the stroke of midnight.

Happy New Year!


Some of the information on this post was found at: http://www.astrologycom.com/bluemoon.html