Tonight is Epiphany Eve and in Italy many children will be waiting to see what they receive from La Befana, âthe witchâ â sweets if theyâve been good, coal if theyâve been naughty. As I wrote in, Mezza Italiana, I was chosen as La Befana for my school play, being âan Italian kidâ, and as you can see from the first photo, I wasnât too thrilled about it! đ Although, Iâd warmed up to the idea by the second photo when I got to climb through a window. (As you can also see, being summer, Iâm already a bit burnt from swimming at the local pool!)
âIn primary school, the class put on an end of year play. âThis year weâre doing âChristmas Around the Worldâ to show how different countries celebrate Christmas,â the teacher announced, eyes shining. As the teacher gave out the parts I chewed my nails praying that what I suspected was about to happen didnât. âAnd in Italy…â the teacher declared almost bursting with smiles, â…they donât have Santa Claus, they have a woman.â Comments and guffaws erupted from the class about it being strange. âSheâs called Befana who is a bit like a witch bringing lumps of coal to the naughty children and sweets to the good. The part of Befana has been given to… ZoĂ«.â I didnât know too many swearwords at that age but I remember the couple I did know popping into my mind, bloody shit.â âŠfrom Mezza Italiana.
The thing is, looking back, Iâm thrilled that I got picked to play, La Befana and am so glad I did. I wish I could say to the little girl in the first photo, donât worry, itâs all going to be okay, you donât need to hide your migrant heritage, one day youâll even write about it (though of course, I wouldâve been horrified at the thought back then!) I guess epiphanies come in all shapes and forms and at different times. Buona Epifania! Auguri della Befana! đ€ ZoĂ« xx
Zoë Boccabella 
Dear Zoe
It saddens me that as a young child you were ashamed of your Italian heritage. What a wonderful opportunity you had to learn and be fluent in Italian from your amazing grandparents, Annibale and Francesca. I battled to learn Italian in my 50s to enable me to converse with a family in Ravenna who so kindly made me feel part of their family and with whom I am still in contact. Yet I do understand your reaction as Australia was and sadly is, still very racist.
At least you and Roger experienced that special time in Fossa and from reading your books, you have now embraced and are proud of your Italian heritage.
I look forward to your next book.
Buon Anno
Judy Balnaves
Dear Judy,
Thank you for your for your kind concern. Please be assured that, like many children in migrant families, as a young child I did feel self-conscious about being in any way different to other kids (as many kids must go through for different reasons), however I never felt ashamed at any time about my Italian heritage, I loved my nonni, Nanna Francesca and Nonno Anni and the rest of my Italian family far too much, and I’m very grateful and blessed to have connected much more with my heritage as I’ve got older. Of course, I wish some things were different in the past (and I’d learnt/been taught more Italian!) but if there’s a positive to come out of growing up as part of a minority group, as I did – many decades ago when certain cultures weren’t as accepted as they now are – it is that I approach those now in such a situation with kindness and openness and have hope that others will too. So wonderful that you learnt Italian, felt so welcomed by the family in Ravenna and remain in touch, really lovely to hear! And thank you, Judy, for your interest in my books, I’m currently working on the next one.
Auguri e tante belle cose, Zoe x