Much like a traditional Halloween witch, the Befana is portrayed as an old hag who rides a broomstick, and she typically wears a black shawl and carries a bag of gifts. She supposedly does not like to be seen, and is said to whack any child who her spies on her with her broomstick no doubt a clever way of keeping the kids in bed while parents arrange gifts in the night.
Gift-Giving Style:
Like Santa Claus, La Befana supposedly
climbs down the chimney to leave gifts
for kids, and she also is known to leave
behind a piece of coal or ash for those
who have been naughty. As the legendary
Befana was regarded as the best
housekeeper in all of Italy, she also is known to sweep the floor around the chimney on her way out.
Country: Austria, Germany, and Hungary - "Krampus"
In Alpine countries, Santa Claus is roughly the same jolly old gift-giver as he is in North America, with one key difference: he's accompanied by a terrifying, bloodthirsty monster called the Krampus. With a name that derives from the German word for claw, Krampus serves as the resident heavy of Santa's gang, dishing out beatings and other medieval-style punishments to naughty kids.
The legend of the creature dates back hundreds of years, but the church stamped out the majority of its influence in the 1800s. Today, the creature is still a minor Christmas character in some parts of Bavaria and Austria, where Krampus Day, or Krampustag, is held on December 5. People dress up as the Krampus and parade through the city streets scaring people, and there are even some towns that hold festivals devoted to jokingly celebrating the history of the creature.
Gift-Giving Style:
As you can probably tell, gifts aren't really the Krampus's style. In traditional folklore, he was much more likely to provide misbehaving kids