La Bafana:

According to the Italian legend, La Befana is the benevolent old woman with magical powers who brings gifts to the children of Italy on the eve of the Epiphany.

One night, Befana notices a bright light in the sky, she thinks nothing of it and goes back to her work of sweeping and baking.

Later, a glorious caravan led by Three Wise Men stop and ask Befana for directions to Bethlehem and invite Befana to join them in their search for the Christ Child. But Befana is too busy and knows nothing of this far-away place nor the birth of a special baby.

After the caravan disappeared over the hills, Befana thought of how much she missed her child who sadly died at a very young age. She changed her mind and wanted to visit this special child, because she loves children very much

So she placed some baked goods and gifts for the child in a sack, took her broom to help the new mother clean and raced out after the caravan in search of the Baby Jesus.

She searched and searched for the Baby Jesus. Befana still searches, even today, even after all these centuries.

And so, every year on the eve of the Epiphany, whenever Befana comes to a house where there is a child, she drops in to see if it might be the child she seeks. It never is, but Befana leaves a gift anyway.

Season’s Greetings!

It’s been another extraordinary year for all of us at Patina. We celebrated our 20th anniversary this year and saw our company reach many new milestones.

As we look back on the year and forward to the next, we hope that all our friends, colleagues and customers have a very happy and safe Holiday Season.

Best wishes and Felice Anno Nuovo!

Marylu Stevens
President and CEO
Patina, Inc

Celebrating...

An Italian Christmas!

The Epiphany, celebrated on January 6th, may actually be a more important holiday than December 25th, the Italians love this season so much that they commemorate it for an entire month, beginning on December 8th.

Today in Italy, Christmas trees are decorated, but the focal point of decoration is the Nativity scene. Italians take great pride in the creation of the manger, created in 1223 by St. Francis of Assisi .

A delicious Italian Christmas custom is the exchange of food gifts with family, friends and neighbors. During the holiday season, Italians buy gifts of Christmas cakes, wines, cheese and prosciutto and give them to family members and friends.

The most popular food gift is panettone, the traditional Christmas bread.

It is delicious; sweet, studded with dried fruit and raisins, and slightly dry and it goes very well with coffee or spumante, the famous sparkling Italian dessert wine.

Combination packages of parmesan cheese and prosciutto, a specially cured ham, are well-liked and Italians also enjoy giving bottles of spumante or prosecco (sparkling wines) to their neighbors and friends at Christmas.

What a perfect way to celebrate…Auguri!
(“Holiday greetings and best wishes!”)

Buon Natale!

"Natale," the Italian word for Christmas, is literally the translation for "birthday." .

Calendar Of Events
December 2006 - December 3 to 6 - Grand Strand Gift & Resort Merchandise Show, Myrtle Beach Convention Center, SC 800-318-2238	January 2007 - Florida interior designers Lisa Erdmann and Nana Winters will be using Patina pieces in their rooms at the Veranda Red Cross Show House in West Palm Beach, January 11 - February 4, 2007.

Holiday Special!

Scenes From the Patina Office:

Classic Patina:

The B19 Friuli Bed; a timeless classic. It was one of the first pieces designed by Patina 20 years ago and has remained a popular item in our line.

The flat design of the headboard creates an ideal canvas for painted decoration. And depending on the color and decoration, the bed can take on totally different looks - from light and airy to heavy and ornate - to accommodate any design requirement.