Feast of San Gennaro facts for kids
The Feast of San Gennaro (in Italian: Festa di San Gennaro) is a big patronal festival that started in Naples, Italy. It's also very popular with Italian Americans in the United States. This festival honors Saint Januarius, who is the patron saint of Naples and also of Little Italy in New York City.
Saint Januarius's feast day is celebrated every year on September 19th in the Catholic Church calendar.
In the United States, the "Festa of San Gennaro" is a major event, especially in New York's Little Italy. During the festival, a colorful statue of the saint is carried through the streets. The celebration also includes a huge street fair that stretches for many blocks.
Contents
Celebrating in Italy
In Naples and nearby areas, there's a special celebration and faith festival that lasts for three days. It honors Saint Gennaro. During this time, you can see parades, religious processions, and enjoy musical shows.
Celebrating in the United States
Little Italy, New York
The Feast of San Gennaro was first celebrated in the United States in September 1926. Immigrants from Naples gathered on Mulberry Street in the Little Italy part of Manhattan in New York City. They wanted to continue the tradition they had from Italy to honor Saint Januarius, the Patron Saint of Naples.
The families who started the feast on Mulberry Street were mostly cafe owners. They built a small chapel right in the street for the statue of their patron saint. They invited everyone to try their food and asked people to pin offerings to ribbons on the statue. This money was then given to people in need in the neighborhood. At first, it was just a one-day religious event. But over time, it grew into an 11-day street fair. Now, it's an annual celebration of food and drinks and a big attraction for tourists.
The festival is mainly on Mulberry Street, which is closed to cars for the event. You can usually find sausages, zeppole (a type of fried dough), street vendors, fun games, and parades. The Grand Procession happens at 2 p.m. on the last Saturday of the feast. It takes place right after a special Mass at the Church of the Most Precious Blood. This is a Roman Catholic procession where the statue of San Gennaro is carried from the church through the streets of Little Italy.
Another similar festival with the same fun attractions is held in New York City's other Little Italy. This one is in the Fordham/Belmont community in the Bronx. The streets are also closed to traffic, and the fun starts early in the morning and lasts late into the night.
Festival Management
In 1995, after some concerns about how the festival's money was handled, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the festival needed to improve its management. He stated that if things didn't change, the city might have to close it down. After the Mayor's warning, a community group was formed to manage the festival. The city government asked them to hire a professional manager, and they chose Mort Berkowitz to handle the finances. This helped make sure the festival was run well.
Other Locations
Similar festivals are also held in other cities. One of the newer ones is in Belmar, New Jersey. The Feast of San Gennaro of the Jersey Shore started in 2012. It was founded by Daniel Di Cesare, who wanted to show the good things that Italian Americans have contributed.
In 2002, Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, and Doug DeLuca started the Feast of San Gennaro in Los Angeles. This is now a big yearly event held every September in Hollywood. Also, Tony Sacca brought The Feast of San Gennaro to the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, in 1986. The event began small in a park, but it became so popular that it moved to bigger places. It happens twice a year, in the Spring and Fall. The Las Vegas festival has traditional Italian food, carnival rides and games, and entertainers like Emilio Baglioni and Lena Prima, who is Louis Prima's daughter.
In 2011, Hampton Bays (on Long Island, New York) began its San Gennaro celebration. It has grown quickly and is now the biggest San Gennaro Feast on Long Island. It's the second largest in New York State, after the Little Italy Feast. The Hampton Bays Feast of San Gennaro attracts a huge crowd. It features live bands, raffles for prizes, and vendors selling delicious food and drinks.
In 2013, The San Gennaro Foundation Seattle was created by the Mascio family. Their goal was to bring the San Gennaro Festival to Seattle, Washington. This three-day festival is held in the second week of September. It includes a procession with the San Gennaro statue, live music, and food. It takes place in the heart of Georgetown, Washington, where many of Seattle's Italian community first settled.
In Popular Culture
The Feast of San Gennaro has appeared in many movies and TV shows:
- In The Godfather Part III, a character named Vincent Corleone takes out another character, Joey Zasa, at the festa.
- It was a crime scene in the TV show CSI: NY in the episode "Corporate Warriors" (Season 2).
- It was also a big part of the 1973 movie Mean Streets.
- The song "Sad Nights" by Blue Rodeo mentions it.
- In "The Ride" (Season 6 Episode 9 of The Sopranos), Tony, Carmela, and other family members go to a made-up festival in Newark that is like this feast.
- On The Golden Girls, Sophia Petrillo tells a funny story about the festival.
- On Laverne & Shirley, the characters travel to New York to attend the festival in a two-part episode (Season 4 opener).
- In the Marvel: Avengers Alliance game, the statue of San Gennaro comes to life with magic, and a hero can fight it.
- On Family Guy: in Season 15, Episode 2, the Griffin family goes to the Feast of San Gennaro.
- On Billions (TV series) Season 4, Episode 2, the festival is shown when Charles Rhodes gets support for his political campaign.
Gallery
-
Street vendors selling sausages at the feast
-
Street Vendors selling cheesesteak sandwiches, sausages, and other foods line the streets
-
The Offices and Rectory of the Most Precious Blood Church during the San Gennaro Festival, with a shrine to San Gennaro on the left
-
A San Gennaro shrine in the courtyard of the Most Precious Blood Church
-
The Feast of San Gennaro along Grand Street in 1981
See also
In Spanish: Fiesta de San Genaro para niños
