According to a legend, a kind witch called “La Befana” flies around on her broomstick on the night of January 5th, bringing gifts to worthy children and lumps of coal to the naughty ones.
Children receive gifts from one of the wise men’s camels, purported to be the youngest and smallest in the caravan, who fell down exhausted at the end of the long journey to Bethlehem.
As a clock tower rings out 12 chimes, people all over the country will scoff a dozen grapes, hoping for good luck.
A Yule goat made of straw is believed to help guard the Xmas tree.
Children often receive gifts from the Magi on Three Kings Day, or Epiphany, as well as from Papai Noel on Christmas Eve. With no use for chimneys in the tropical climate, they believe Papai Noel enters via the front door, and travels via helicopter rather than a reindeer-drawn sleigh.
La Misa del Gallo (“Mass of the Rooster”) on Christmas Eve, with people bringing roosters to midnight mass to symbolize the belief that a rooster was the first animal to announce the birth of Jesus Christ.
Local men in devil costumes appear on the streets and chase children during rhe first week of Advent. The Devil’s reign ends on December 7 with a folk ritual known as La Quema del Diablo (“The Burning of the Devil”), where people pile objects they no longer want or need in front of their houses, scatter firecrackers on top of the heap, and set fire to it.
