Befana 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. There are poems about Befana, which are known in slightly different versions throughout Italy. Here is one of the versions: "La Befana vien di notte"<br> "Con le scarpe tutte rotte"<br> "Col vestito alla romana"<br> "Viva, Viva La Befana!" The English translation is: "The Befana comes by night"<br> "With her shoes all tattered and torn"<br> "She comes dressed in the Roman way"<br> "Long live the Befana!" Another version is given in a poem by Giovanni Pascoli:
Befana the name Befana is derived from the Italians' mispronunciation of the Greek word "epifania" or "epiphaneia" (Greek, επιφάνεια = appearance, surface, English: epiphany). Others point to the name being a derivative of Bastrina, the gifts associated with the goddess Strina. In the book "Domestic Life in Palestine", by Mary E. Rogers (Poe & Hitchcock, 1865) the author notes: A theory connects the tradition of exchanging gifts to an ancient Roman festivity in honour of Ianus and Strenia (in Italian a Christmas gift used to be called "strenna"), celebrated at the beginning of the year, when Romans used to give each