He reported that the neighbor asked if it would be okay to hang banners from our second floor balcony to traverse the street tomorrow. Okay, no problem. Evidently the church was up to something. He chided me for not answering the door and also not knowing exactly what the celebration could be, good Catholic girl that I am.
In the morning another neighbor stopped by to add deocrations. She informed us that after the 18:30 mass there was to be a procession through the streets.
By early evening, all of Via Villa was decked in similar fashion: the red and white decorations did not miss a house along the street. It really was quite festive.Still unsure of exactly what might be happening, I did what all smart people do . . . I turned to Google. The good folks of Lumignano were celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi.
The procession was led by the cross and included nearly 100 or so of the local folks; we knew to expect them soon after the church bells chimed for quite some time at 19:30. When the bells stopped we could hear the hymns being sung by the crowd headed up the street. I did feel a bit like we should have been at that mass, in that procession.
Don Giorgio brought up the rear, where he used a portable sound system to lead the group in prayer. I felt a bit like an intruder with my camera & let it hang at my side during most of the time. This is life, the real deal . . . quite serious for these people.
All of this, unexpectedly on a Saturday in June, in my little paese lost in the Veneto. Wish you were here :)
2 comments:
Wonderful. Loved when things happened like this in Japan...and so pretty to see your neighborhood with the red and white decorations. Did they come by and collect them for next year or you do keep them?
Funny you should ask about the decorations. I was told that I should store them in case the procession happens again next year -- evidently it moves from village to village to village each year. I think I'll give them to a neighbor for safe keeping.
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