Did you know...
People in crisis always find relief, and Italian Americans found ways to light up the streets with feasts and other amusements. A favorite festival was Saint Rocco in the Mulberry district, revered by southern Italians for his miraculous cures of the diseases. The parade reminded spectators of Saint Rocco‘s miracles by carrying wax arms, legs, hands, and other parts of the body.
San Gennaro was the patron of Naples and a huge favorite to this day. The Feast of San Gennaro in New York’s Little Italy draws crowds from all over.
But in Italy the most truly and common religious festival was in honor of the Madonna. In New York the annual celebration is the Madonna of Mount Carmel through the streets of Italian East Harlem.