Piazza Navona 'Befana' program one of solidarity

(ANSA) - Rome, December 30 - Rome officials on Wednesday announced a solidarity-filled program to center around the city's Piazza Navona in celebration of a national holiday on January 6, which is the day of the Epiphany.
    The Epiphany is inspired by the story of the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem with gifts for the newborn Jesus, and is also known in Italy as La Befana after a legendary old woman who delivers gifts on her broomstick.
    She is said to visit children on the eve of January 6 to fill their socks with candy and presents if they have been good, or a lump of coal or dark candy if they have been bad.
    This year, 21 organizations and NGOs such as Amnesty International, Emergency, the Red Crescent, the Red Cross, Slow Food, lay Catholic group Sant'Egidio and UNICEF will be on hand at Piazza Navona. The program that kicks off today through January 6 also includes puppet shows, clowns, music, dancing, storytelling, and two concerts courtesy of the Santa Cecilia Orchestra on January 4 and 5.
    "Piazza Navona is a place of solidarity this year," said District President Sabrina Alfonsi. "The celebration is in line with the times we are living in, a time of war and in which the Jubilee is taking place in this city," she said.