La Befana vien di notte
con le scarpe tutte rotte
col cappello alla romana
viva viva la Befana!

On the night of Jan. 5, Italians celebrate a feast that has its origins in pre-christian beliefs and winter solstice celebrations: they commemorate Maria Befana, a witch who brings stockings filled with candy for children.  On Jan. 5, in Rome’s Piazza Navona, a huge market square, merchants sell ornaments, stockings, and likenesses of Maria Befana, along with candy galore.  Children hang big stockings before going to bed, and the next morning Maria Befana has left goodies for them.  

What are the origins of this feast?   "The 12-day Yuletide cycle of 12/25 to 1/5 ends with the feast of the old Roman goddess Befana, the ‘Great Grandmother’ who rides her broomstick through the world on this night, delivering gifts to good children. During the Christian middle ages Befana's ride was reassigned to a large male elfin figure who made his ride just before the start of Yuletide, on the night before Christmas. Befana became one of the cartoon witches who have survived in the popular imagination ever since."   [ http://www.hermes3.net/jan203.htm ]

Online versions of the legend and its origins: 

http://digilander.libero.it/trapizia/befana/labefana.htm (in Italian, with music) 

http://www.labefana.com/ (in Italian, with music, and interactive)

http://digilander.libero.it/trapizia/befana/labefana.htm  (in Italian)

http://www.itclucca.lu.it/teatro/comenius/befanaita.htm (in Italian: origins of La Befana in Epifania)

http://abruzzo2000.com/abruzzo/traditions/christmas/befana.htm   (in English: La Befana's pagan origins) 

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/OttawaItalians/Heritage/befana.htm    (in English)

http://www.fabrisia.com/befana.htm  (in English)

http://www.users.voicenet.com/~mimir/Befana.html  (in English: retellings of La Befana story)

http://www.floria-publications.com/italy/life_and_customs/la_befana.html   (in English)