Every year, on January 6, some parts of the world celebrate Three Kings Day or Epiphany. It marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas and is celebrated as the day the three wise men first saw baby Jesus and brought him gifts. Different countries have their own traditions for this day. In Spain, this is when they open their Christmas presents. The French eat King Cake.

When I was in Italy, I grew to love the story of Old Befana. There are several tellings of the legend. My favorite goes something like this . . .

Old Befana is a lonely, elderly woman. She keeps to herself. Often, the people in her village notice her baking all day or hear her singing lullabies. The children in town sometimes make fun of her.

One night, after Old Befana has gone to bed, she sees a light coming into her room; she gets up to investigate and when she opens her shutters, she sees a bright star in the sky. She goes back to bed, thinking about all of the chores she has to do tomorrow.

The next day as she is sweeping her walkway, she sees three men coming toward her with a whole caravan; they seem to be royalty. The men stop and speak to her about the new star. She explains that she had seen it the night before and had wondered about it. The three kings explain to Befana that it is a sign that a new king was born–a promised Messiah. They are headed to Bethlehem to take gifts to the new king and worship him. The kings invite her to come with them, but she refuses because she is too busy.

However, later, after the caravan has moved on, Befana has a change of heart. She also wants to bring the new king a gift, so she goes in her house and bakes some cookies and treats for the newborn king. After she has finished, she grabs the basket of treats and her broom and races to catch up to the Magi.

The legend states that she never catches up to the Three Kings and never finds the Christ child.

But she doesn’t give up her search.

And because she is still searching for Him to this day, every year on January 6, she visits children all over Italy and leaves the treats she has baked and sweeps their rooms clean for them just as she will do for the Christ child when she finds Him.

There is always Hope

To me, the legend of Befana is a message of hope. We may have rejected an invitation or two to come to Christ along the way, but it is never too late to seek Him. It is never too late to let Him heal your loneliness or pain caused by others. It is never too late to bring Him gifts.

Bring whatever you have to offer

Further, the gifts we offer Christ do not have to be gold, or frankincense, or myrrh. We may only have cookies to bring. Or we may only be able to sweep for Him. Regardless, it is effort that He asks of us because “the Lord loves effort. The Lord loves consistency. The Lord loves steadfastness.”¹

Seek for through Serving Others

Lastly, finding Christ, giving Him gifts, and worshipping Him is not a one time event, but rather a quest of a lifetime. Notice what Befana does as she seeks for Christ: she leaves for other children the same gifts she prepared for Him. Remember, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 5:40). So, in the end, even though Befana is still searching for the Christ child, she is, in fact, finding Him with each child she serves.

Whether you celebrate Three Kings Day or not, I hope you find Christ this year as you offer whatever gifts you are able to Him and to those you find along the way.

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1. Russell M. Nelson, Facebook Post, January 1, 2022.

_{Lead photo by Jane Slack-Smith on Unsplash}