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Befana
In Italian folklore and folk customs, the Befana () is a witch-like old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Three Magi.Illes, Judika. ''Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses'' (2009) p. 269. The Befana is a widespread tradition among Italians and thus has many names. She is a part of both popular national culture and traditional folk culture and is akin to other figures who roam about sometime during the Twelve Days and reward the good, punish the bad, and receive offerings. The Befana is a mysterious, contradictory figure of unclear origins. This character is enhanced by the fact that she is overall neglected by scholars but is the subject of much speculation by the ones who do mention her. Pre-Christian, Christian, and syncretism of the two have all been postulated as explanations of her origins. In some par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epiphany (holiday)
Epiphany ( ), also known as "Theophany" in Eastern Christian tradition, is a Christian feast day commemorating the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana. In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child, and thus Jesus Christ's physical manifestation to the Gentiles. It is sometimes called Three Kings' Day, and in some traditions celebrated as Little Christmas. Moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide. Eastern Christians, on the other hand, commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God, and celebrate it as the Feast of the Epiphany or of the Theophany. The traditional site of the ministry of John the Baptist is in Al-Maghtas in Jordan, with the baptism of Jesus once marked in Byzantine times by a cross in the middle of the Jordan River, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folklore Of Italy
Folklore of Italy refers to the folklore and urban legends of Italy. Within the Italian territory, various people have followed each other over time, each of which has left its mark on current culture. Some tales also come from Christianization, especially those concerning Devil, demons, which are sometimes recognized by Christian demonology. Italian folklore also includes the genre of the fairy tale (where the term itself was born), folk music, folk dance and folk heroes. Figures and Heroes of Italian folklore Below is a list of the folklore figures who have animated Italian folk tales since ancient Rome. Traditional characters * In Italian folklore, the Befana is an old woman who Christmas gift-bringer, delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany (holiday), Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Biblical Magi, Three Magi Kings. A popular belief is that her name derives from the Calendar of saints, Feast of Epiphany (Christi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Christmas And Winter Gift-bringers
This is a list of Christmas and winter gift-bringer figures from around the world. The history of mythical or folkloric gift-bringing figures who appear in winter, often at or around the Christmas period, is complex, and in many countries the gift-bringer – and the gift-bringer's date of arrival – has changed over time as native customs have been influenced by those in other countries. While many though not all gift-bringers originated as religious figures, gift-bringing is often now a non-religious custom and secular figures exist in many countries that have little or no tradition of celebrating Christmas as a religious festival. Some figures are entirely local, and some have been deliberately and more recently invented. The main originating strands – all of which have their roots in Europe – are * the overlapping winter-based and religious Old Man traditions (Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Basil, Grandfather Frost), * the Christ Child traditi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italia - Spinello Di Santa Sofia - Festa Della Befana 2
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares land borders with France to the west; Switzerland and Austria to the north; Slovenia to the east; and the two enclaves of Vatican City and San Marino. It is the tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering , and the third-most populous member state of the European Union, with nearly 59 million inhabitants. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome; other major cities include Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice. The history of Italy goes back to numerous Italic peoples—notably including the ancient Romans, who conquered the Mediterranean world during the Roman Republic and ruled it for centuries during the Roman Empire. With the spread of Christianity, Rome became the sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Gift-bringers
A number of Midwinter or Christmas traditions in European folklore involve gift-bringers. Mostly involving the figure of a bearded old man, the traditions have mutually influenced one another, and have adopted aspects from Christian hagiography, even before the modern period. In Eastern Slavic countries, the figure is Father Frost. In Scandinavia, it is an elf-like figure or tomten who comes at Yule (and who sometimes also takes the form of a goat). In German-speaking Europe and Latin Europe, it became associated with the Christian Saint Nicholas. In some parts of Central Europe, there is a separate tradition of a young child or fairy-like being bringing presents, known as Christkind. Early modern England had Father Christmas, a character initially associated with feasting and good cheer, though he was not originally a gift bringer. From these European traditions, the North American figure of Santa Claus developed, beginning in the 1820s. The American figure in turn had consider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Claus
Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. Christmas elves are said to make the gifts in Santa's workshop, while flying reindeer pull his sleigh through the air. The popular conception of Santa Claus originates from folklore traditions surrounding the 4th-century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas became renowned for his reported generosity and secret gift-giving. The image of Santa Claus shares similarities with the English figure of Father Christmas, and they are both now popularly regarded as the same person. Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white- bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, a red hat trimmed with white fur, a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as List of islands of Italy, nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares land borders with France to the west; Switzerland and Austria to the north; Slovenia to the east; and the two enclaves of Vatican City and San Marino. It is the List of European countries by area, tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering , and the third-most populous member state of the European Union, with nearly 59 million inhabitants. Italy's capital and List of cities in Italy, largest city is Rome; other major cities include Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice. The history of Italy goes back to numerous List of ancient peoples of Italy, Italic peoples—notably including the ancient Romans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perchta
or (' Bertha'; ), also commonly known as () and other variations, was once known as a goddess in Alpine paganism in the Upper German and also Austrian and Slovenian regions of the Alps. Her name may mean 'the bright one' or 'the bearer' (, from Proto-Germanic *''berhtaz'') and is probably related to the name , meaning 'the feast of the Epiphany'. Eugen Mogk provides an alternative etymology, attributing the origin of the name to the Old High German verb , meaning 'hidden' or 'covered'. The exact origin or time of origin is unknown. Perchta is often identified as stemming from the same Germanic goddess as Holda and other female figures of Germanic folklore (see Frija-Frigg). According to Jacob Grimm and Lotte Motz, Perchta is Holda's southern cousin or equivalent, as they both share the role of "guardian of the beasts" and appear during the Twelve Days of Christmas, when they oversee spinning.Motz according to Hilton 1984. Grimm says Perchta or Berchta was known "precis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frau Holle
"Frau Holle" (; ; also known as "Mother Holle", "Mother Hulda" or "Old Mother Frost") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in '' Children's and Household Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 24). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 480. Frau Holle (also known in various regions as Holla, Holda, Perchta, Berchta, Berta, or Bertha) was initially a pre-Christian female legendary figure who survived in popular belief well into the 19th century. The name may be cognate of the Scandinavian creature known as the ''Hulder''. Jacob Grimm made an attempt to establish her as a Germanic goddess. Legendary creature Etymology The name is thought to originate from German ''huld'' ("gracious, friendly, sympathetic, grateful" found in ''hold sein'', ''huldigen''), Middle High German ''hulde'', Old High German ''huldī'' ("friendliness"). Cognate with Danish and Swedish ''huld'' ("fair, kindly, gracious") or 'hyld' ("secret, hidden"), Icelandic ''hollur'' ("faithful, dedicated, loyal"), Middle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latera
Latera is a small town and ''comune'' in the Province of Viterbo, Lazio, central Italy. Stephen Owen considers it to be an "archetypal" Italian hill town. Situated near Bolsena Lake and Mezzano Lake, is important for volcanic underground activity near the town centre. It has a small rock with a medieval palace by Farnese family, surrounded by medieval stone houses. History Latera and its castle are known by documents from around the beginning of the 12th century. It began its long-lasting link with the Farnese family in 1408, when Pope Gregory XII conceded vicardom of the city to Ranuccio Farnese (1390-1450), creating with the namesake city of Farnese a Duchy independent from that of the nearby Castro, which later became capital of the Duchy of Castro. The House of Farnese reigned over the Duchy of Latera until 1650, when it was subsumed back into the Papal States. The last ruler was Pietro Francesco Farnese, Duke of Latera, General of the Spanish Army (1592-1662). Main s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Navona Natale 1150489
''Lilium'' 'Navona' is an Asiatic lily hybrid variety of white lilies, used in cut-flower production worldwide. Description It has big upward-facing, white flowers, with dark green foliage, that flower from late spring to early summer. They can grow up to 26"-32" / 66.0 cm - 81.3 cm high. History It was created by Gebr. Vletter and Den Haan in Rijnsburg, The Netherlands, in the eighties. Cultivation It is hardy to between USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ... Zone 3 and Zone 9. It prefers positions in full sun or partial shade, in well-drained soils. It can be grown in containers. References {{reflist Navona Ornamental plant cultivars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements. In January 1964, List of pastoral visits of Pope Paul VI, he flew to Jordan, the first time a reigning pontiff had left Italy in more than a century. Montini served in the Holy See's Secretariat of State from 1922 to 1954, and along with Domenico Tardini was considered the closest and most influential advisor of Pope Pius XII. In 1954, Pius named Montini Archbishop of Milan, the largest Italian diocese. Montini later became the Secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Italy, Italian Bishops' Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
