La Befana Arriva di Notte (The Befana Comes at Night)

She comes around once a year, after Santa Claus and along with the Three Wise Men. To Italian and Italian-American children, her arrival means the end of the Christmas holiday season; she is "La Befana."
Also known as the "Christmas Witch," the Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on the eve of the Epiphany, January 5. In the United States, the feast of the Epiphany is fluid-- it was celebrated this past weekend. In Italy, on the other hand, the feast is always celebrated on January 6.
According to folklore, the Befana was approached by the Three Wise Men before Jesus's birth, asking her for directions to the manger. Not knowing how to direct them to where Jesus was, she provided them with shelter for the night. The Wise Men invited her to come with them on their journey the next day, but she said she was too busy with housework. She later changed her mind and followed them. To this day, she is still looking for the baby and travels house to house looking for him.
While traveling, the Befana brings Italian children gifts of candy and presents, placed in their stockings, if they are well-behaved. Or, like Santa, she'll give them a lump of coal or garlic if they are bad. In some of the poorer parts of Italy, including rural Sicily, the Befana will put a stick in a stocking instead of a piece of coal. Legend also dictates that the Befana sweeps the floor before she leaves, a sign of sweeping away the previous year's problems.
Instead of leaving out milk and cookies, Italian families leave the Befana a small glass of wine and a plate with some food, usually regional or local specialties.
Like a Halloween-style witch, the Befana will arrive riding a broomstick through the air but, unlike the wicked witches of October, she is kindly and usually portrayed as smiling. 
A well-known poem by Giovanni Pascoli about the Befana reads as follows...

Viene, viene la Befana
Vien dai monti a notte fonda
Come è stanca! la circonda
Neve e gelo e tramontana!
Viene, viene la Befana

The English translation is:

Here comes, here comes the Befana
She comes from the mountains in the deep of the night
Look how tired she is! All wrapped up
In snow and frost and the north wind!
Here comes, here comes the Befana!

Viva la Befana e Buona Epifania, everyone!