Befana Befana In Italian folklore, Befana () is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to St Nicholas or Santa Claus. A popular belief is that her name derives from the Feast of Epiphany or in Catholic "La Festa dell'Epifania". "Epifania" is a Latin word with Greek origins meaning "manifestation (of the divinity)." Some suggest that Befana is descended from the Sabine/Roman goddess named Strenia. In popular folklore Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany to fill
How the Toys Saved Christmas 1997, the film was imported to the U.S. and released direct-to-video by Buena Vista Home Video, under the title "How the Toys Saved Christmas" (although, as shown in the previews, originally going to be titled "The Toys Who Saved Christmas"). The film featured Mary Tyler Moore as the voice for the Befana, who was named "Granny Rose", Tony Randall as Scarafoni (whose name suggest "scarafaggio" that means beetle), who was named "Mr. Grimm", and Michael Caloz as Francesco, who was named "Christopher Winter". The film also had some scenes from the original Italian release deleted or placed before other scenes,