The well-known popular proverb says: "The Epiphany takes all holidays away"
Having reached the end of this period of great binges, we just have to finish with a flourish and honor the tradition by creating a stocking for the Befana full of many goodies.
But how to fill the Befana socks to give to young and old? Which candies and sweets to choose?
Before giving you some useful advice for making personalized do-it-yourself socks, let's travel through time: let's discover together how the tradition of the Epiphany was born.
Befana tradition, here's what you need to know about the Epiphany
When we talk about the history and origins of the Epiphany, the religious world and the pagan world travel hand in hand, as if they were on two parallel tracks.
The religious tradition refers to the moment in which the Magi, thanks to the guidance of the comet, arrive in the hut where Jesus was born recognizing him as the son of God and taking with them gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The pagan tradition, much older than this event, associates theEpiphany at the beginning of the new year.
History teaches how every ancient civilization followed its own tradition to celebrate this "new beginning": for example some peoples celebrate the goddess of health Strenia while others the goddess Diana who, flying in the sky, gives prosperity to the cultivated fields and gives each child sweets and fruit.
Thus, to exorcise the arrival of the new year, the tradition of filling the socks with gifts, sweets, fruit and other delicacies during the night of the Befana was born over time.
The advice of UNIVERSAL DOLCE on which sweets to use to fill the Befana stockings
The shelves of shopping centers are full of “ready for delivery” Befana socks: certainly this is the easiest and fastest solution, but a personalized sock warms the hearts of even the greatest.
The first thing to do is to choose the size carefully (small, medium or large) and the type of sock to use: unfortunately there is no valid advice for all people on the imagination as it all depends on the tastes of the recipient.
For the little ones you can orient yourself towards the world of cartoons while for the older ones you can choose between cloth or jute socks with themed decorative details (befane, edelweiss and much more).
The next step concerns the choice of sweets to be included. Also in this case I advise you to think about the preferences of the recipient of the sock.
In general, the most frequent choices fall on:
- sweetened black coal (for those who have not been very good);
- chocolate coins;
- nougats;
- goalscorer;
- fizzy candies;
- wrapped candies;
- gummy candies;
- fruit gelees candies;
- mints;
- lollipop;
- fruit bears;
- Marshmallow;
- licorice;
- bulk dragees.
The list is still very long, so if you are looking for some ideas I suggest you visit the candy section of our site.
TrBefana adition: even the eye wants its part
Once you have chosen the model of the Befana sock and the type of candies and sweets to be inserted, the moment of filling arrives.
To try to create a well-proportioned sock, without "empty areas" I suggest you:
- filling the foot area with smaller sized sweets and candies, such as chocolate chips, wrapped candies, and other similar products;
- fill the central part, therefore the body of our sock, starting from the sides with products with a more elongated shape such as Goleador or stick liquorice;
- insert sweets with a bulkier dimension such as charcoal and nougat only at the end.
Finally, dedicated to closing the sock using colored ribbons, rosettes or decorative strings.
