Christmas

Long before calendars were agreed upon and long before Epiphany had a name, there lived an old woman in the hills of Italy known simply as Befana. She was not feared, nor was she celebrated. She was respected. Her humble inn was immaculate beyond reason, scrubbed so clean that even dust seemed afraid to linger. Floors gleamed like still water, shelves were aligned with obsessive precision, and every tool had its place. Cleanliness was not merely...