Skip to main content

For a Feast






















Can you smell this sausage and pepper sandwich?

Can you suddenly go for a deep fried piece of heaven in the form of a zeppole or calzone??

I know I can. We are in luck. Starting on Sunday July 10, The Giglio Feast in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is beginning.  It is a week-long annual event.  Attending this feast has been a tradition in my family since I was in college. It was there that my mentor, favorite professor, and "Morrie", shared this experience with me. He is actually one of the participants who lift the Giglio.

This is no ordinary Italian street feast. What makes this feast special are the lifts. But lets start with the Giglio.  A Giglio is the reason for the celebration. It is a large, slim, tall statute that weighs approximately 4 tons. It is carried by a group of men who are all around and even under it. They must work together to move this enormous tower. On top of the Giglio, there are band members and their instruments. The band members play while this statute is being thrown in the air!  It takes 112 men to move the Giglio all around the feast, periodically lifting it into the air. It is the most amazing site. There is no way to avoid the excitement, suspense, and exhilaration. The feeling of the large crowds are contagious. The music and the food conspire for a fun day or evening event for all ages.

This tradition has been happening in this neighborhood, in Brooklyn for over 100 years. To make a long story short, it honors Saint Paulinus a.k.a San Paolino who in 410 A.D. changed places with a child who had been abducted into slavery so that the child may go free.  Saint Paulinus was eventually freed and upon his return celebrations of his sacrifice began. The story goes they became more elaborate every year and from every village. Once it moved to the U.S. and Brooklyn, the feast of the Giglio now also commemorates the church that supports it, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

I look forward to this feast every year. It is more than the delicious food. It is family, friends, and the tradition. I will be there this year and I hope you will be too.

While the feast runs daily July 10th-17th, the lifts take place on Sunday July 10th at 1pm, Wednesday July 13th at 8pm, and Sunday July 17th at 2pm.

For details on the feast and getting there:

http://www.olmcfeast.com

http://www.olmcfeast.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=37&Itemid=54 

For the history of the Giglio:

http://www.olmcfeast.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=42&Itemid=55





Labels:

Comments

  1. MomJuly 10, 2011 at 9:33 PM

    Can't wait to bite into a nice hot calzone.
    Yummy...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards
Post a Comment
Read more

For My Madness During Migraine Awareness Month

Last weekend as I sat staring at the blank page in front of me, I was still surprised and elated that I had an entire day to myself and unlike past experiences it was filled with what I wanted when I wanted it. There were a few rough moments but when I consider the previous twelve hours (and the days to come) have been better than the last week. Especially this last week even though I had braced myself ahead of time, I just didn’t know I should have braced for a more serious episode. I am a chronic migraine sufferer for so many years I don’t quite remember when they started exactly which is ironic because I can remember every special event they have ruined. I remember plays or dinners I was at where I don’t remember what happened but I could tell you what I felt minute by minute. It amazing how the mind works, especially when it’s operated by a migraine brain. In the last few years, specifically the last few years since I have been going to the Montefiore Headac
10 comments
Read more

For Find Out Friday - How Do You Milk An Almond?

Despite my affinity for cheese and other dairy products, occasionally (actually a few times a week) I like to go dairy-free.  During those times I rely heavily on my favorite brand of almond milk, as seen in the picture above.  Though I know there is no dairy in this product, I constantly wonder: “how does one milk an almond”? Logically I am aware that no actually “milking” is taking place.  I also know that almond milk can be made at home, although I have zero interest in attempting to make it despite my love of spending time in my kitchen. So, what is the actual process?  How long does it take?  When / where / who was the first to successful develop this product? When talking about this kind of “milk” what we are really talking about is plant juices that resemble and can be used in the same ways as dairy milk. Plant like juice has been described as milk since about 1200 A.D. The first mentions can be found in a Baghdadi cookbook in the thirteenth
Post a Comment
Read more