Christmas traditions period, the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one. While gifts are now given at Christmas by an American style Santa Claus as well, Italy holds fast to its tradition of native gift-givers. On the eve of the 6th, la Befana, the good Epiphany witch, is thought to ride the night skies on broomstick, bringing good children gifts and sweets, and bad ones charcoal or bags of ashes. In other areas it is the Three Wise Men who bring gifts, especially oranges symbolizing gold, and chocolate symbolizing their kisses to good children. In some municipalities,
Christmas in the Basque Country what the people of the mountain wear and the holiday used to celebrate the peasants who sold their goods in town and came on Santo Tomas to pay rent to landlords in the city. In the Basque Country the equivalent of Santa is Olentzero, and Olentzero lives or lived (depending on what you believe) in the mountains, and he wears the boys' casera. He is a mythical Basque character who is widely portrayed as a messenger who cries out that it is Christmas time throughout all the corners of the Basque Country. In some versions, the Olentzero is a farmer