Nonna Romana Sciddurlo’s Sweet Coal

In an Italian household, the Epiphany officially marks the end of the Christmas season. Ever since I was a little girl, Nonna Romana would tell me stories of the good witch La Befana, who would visit children on the eve of January 6 to give the good little boys and girls gifts of candy and treats, while anyone who misbehaved (you can guess which list I was usually on) received coal. She would recite the famous Befana poem to me until I knew it by heart: “La Befana viene