La Festa di Sant'Anna
On the last Sunday of every August my family and I celebrate “La Festa di Sant ‘Anna". It’s a celebration which is almost as special as Christmas in our family!
Our family originates from Jelsi, Campobasso. Every year on July 26nd they celebrate Sant’Anna La Festa Del Grano. They pay homage to our patron saint with incredible works of art all created by hand with wheat and braids of wheat!
This impressive 213 year old tradition started after a tremendous earthquake occurred in 1805 which caused deaths and damage to our village. After this tragedy, the people of Jelsi promised to pay homage to Sant’Anna every year so that she would protect the village and its people. They create intricate and detailed artisanal works of art using wheat which are displayed on a “Traglia" (a cart) and then displayed behind the Madonna in a procession through the major streets of the village.
Over 30 years ago, this beautiful tradition was brought to Montréal.
My father partook in this tradition by recreating a world globe made from wheat.
This year my family and I chose to pay homage to our father and to Sant’Anna by recreating the world globe he created so many years ago. We also wanted to share this tradition and all the hard work that comes with it, with our children.
Our first attempt to create a 48” globe from Papier Maché collapsed 2 weeks before the feast of Sant’Anna! Luckily we banded together, found a solution and started again working almost every night on our project.
Our version of our Traglia included an angel on top of the world representing loved ones that are no longer with us. In the angel’s hand, 6 white roses for every grand parent lost.
It was a true labour of love! And albeit some challenges and stressful moments, a memorable experience for all our family.
A thank you to my sisters and sister-in-law: Terry, Antoinette and Diana. My son and nephews: Domenico, Gianni, Giuliano, and Luca. To my godmother: Carmelina Codipietro. Thank you to our father Giovanni and my brother Mike.
And a special thanks to: Victor Perez and Nick Santacroce who built our 2nd globe and saved the day!
To Tony Corbo who spent the Saturday night before Sant’Anna with me putting our finishing touches till 1 am in the morning!
Without their exceptional help we would have not been able to make it!
