Yesterday’s post was on Italian Epiphany (Befana) in 1921. This was the year before the fascist takeover of that country. Under the Duce (dictator) Benito Mussolini, Christmas customs were changed and the holiday was appropriated for the purposes of the totalitarian state. Lavish New Year’s dinners were discouraged, the Christmas tree was derided as a nasty foreign import from the north, and the nativity scene was promoted in its stead.
In January 1928, the Befana Fascista was instituted. The children of the working class were given presents by the state and Mussolini’s picture replaced any traditional gift-giver such as the kindly Befana witch or any saint. In this image the traditional Befana is shown putting the portrait of il Duce in her bag.
Below is a 1938 picture of two “Sons of the Wolf” (the fascist equivalent of the Boy Scouts) receiving their Befana Fascista gifts.
