And then there is the “strolling” along the town’s main street, in Irpinia or elsewhere, a custom that encourages meetings, arranges marriages and business, and gives the opportunity to show off new clothes. But beyond appearances, every event is different from the others. Some festivals, like the “mandated festivals,” are strictly religious in nature, with mass, the statue of the Patron Saint carried on shoulders, the offering of ex-votos, acts of homage, and the devotion of the faithful, which can sometimes be very dramatic.
Other times, popular festivals are linked to the changing seasons, and in rural villages, for example, follow the agricultural production cycle. This is even more true in small communities where the local economy is based almost exclusively on farming. Haymaking, harvesting, corn picking, grape harvest, chestnut gathering are some of the yearly events marking these auspicious popular festivals.
The village festival, with processions and ancient propitiatory rituals, becomes an occasion to thank for the harvest and to ward off future famines. Both drought and heavy rains are serious threats to the crops, so farmers invoke divine help and protection, entrusting their sowing to this or that Saint.
In the farming world, both seasonal celebrations and religious ones dedicated to the Patron Saint are very common, and all are based on ancient customs passed down orally from father to son. Although today those ancient ceremonies are often personalized and updated by drawing from current events and customs.
Thus, among these rituals of distant memory, modern details increasingly emerge, and sometimes this new folkloric character can conceal the true rituality of the festival. But to a keen observer, the peculiar characteristics of the ancient rite will never escape notice, remaining alive through the movements of the people, the expression on faces, and the details of the objects.
In any case, those who are the custodians of tradition remain the only certain source for those wanting information about the origin and reasons for a festival, celebrated in gratitude or devotion.
Village festivals are often very moving, and the reasons for celebration are so varied that every opportunity is a good one to attend one. Moreover, in a territory dotted with hundreds of small villages like the Avellino countryside, the festival calendar is really packed, leaving visitors spoiled for choice.
For example, the “angel flight” is a must-see, a festival with unknown origins, very common in Campania. Angels have always been considered “guardians” and act as intermediaries between the people and God. Through them, one can ask for divine favor and grace. In Prata di Principato Ultra, during the festivities for the Madonna of the Annunciation, a festival takes place whose main event is the “angel flight.” Two girls dressed as angels are suspended several meters above the ground and slide along a rope stretched between the bell tower window of the Basilica of the Annunciation and a large tree in the center of the square. Midway through and amidst the silence of the crowd, the suspended girls scatter flower petals on the statue of the Madonna below and sing a long lullaby of greeting accompanied by the band’s music. The girls must be light and have beautiful voices, and they are often hard to find; once chosen, they are “trained” and perform their role for a few years until they become too grown-up.
In Gesualdo, the angel flight is truly spectacular. During the celebrations in honor of Saint Vincent Ferrer, the “saint with wings,” a rope is stretched between a window of the Gesualdo Castle and the bell tower of the Church of the Holy Rosary, from which a child is suspended over 40 meters high. After some recitations and as the angel reaches about halfway on the route, a verbal duel against the devil begins from above, while the devil performs his part from below, on a stage set up in the square.
At the end, a thunderous applause breaks the silence and relieves the tension that engaged all those present at the sacred representation.
Devotion and gratitude are also expressed with symbolic gifts offered by the population to the Patron Saint or the Madonna. In Mirabella Eclano, for example, during the “car festival” held on the third Saturday of September, a gift clearly referencing fertility is offered: a grand obelisk 25 meters high, made solely with woven straw and topped with the statue of the Madonna of Sorrows. Until three years ago, the obelisk was transported on a cart pulled by six oxen, crossing the town’s main streets with great difficulty. After about six hours, the cart would reach the main square, and the exhausted animals had to be slaughtered. Numerous protests from animal rights activists put an end to the tradition, and today a tractor tows the large ex-voto instead of oxen. From the obelisk extend 42 hemp ropes used to support the structure vertically during its daring journey. Each rope is pulled by 50 people who exert every effort so the structure doesn’t fall sideways: popular belief holds that if this happens, the entire population will fall into misfortune. The origin of this festival likely dates back to the 1600s, when farmers offered their carts full of grain to the Madonna as thanks for the harvest; atop each cart, a handmade divine figure, saint or madonna would be made as a vow offering. This is why today the statue of the Madonna tops the obelisk.
And there are truly many auspicious festivals: in April, in Castelvetere sul Calore, seven girls dressed in white and covered in gold have the task of distributing to all the families in the town some blessed bread rings, as a symbol of prosperity. Each family participates indirectly by choosing a girl to wear one of their gold jewels. All day long, the seven girls carry 5 or 6 kilos of gold on their dresses and a basket with the blessed bread rings on their heads. They knock on every door to offer the precious blessed bread to the inhabitants. To avoid any risk, the young distributors are strictly followed by a “godfather” armed with a stick, under the vigilant eyes of the police and the carabinieri!
Popular festivals are a complex theatrical machine, and during their course everyone contributes to the success of the event; indeed, the essential ingredient for an impressive festival is emotional involvement, so organizers always try to make every event of the day spectacular. Preparations are made with great care to avoid mishaps, and generally, the family organizing and overseeing the event is always the same one, passing down the art of organization from generation to generation—a highly effective way to preserve traditions over time.
