Jordan and I are at the bookstore again after a quick yoga session this morning with some of his teammates. When Jordan and I walked to the yoga studio this morning, everybody was staring (and some were laughing) at us . . . apparently wearing shorts in the winter time is frowned upon by the people of Catania haha.
Ok, the point of this post is to tell you about the festival/celebration that Jordan and I went to other night. Luckily for us, this weekend was one of the biggest weekends for the people of Catania - they celebrated St. Agata! Legend has it that Mt. Etna (the volcano right by our town) erupted 6 times and destroyed the town of Catania each time. The 7th time it erupted, St. Agata laid her veil down and stopped the lava from destroying the town . . . hence why the people here love her so much!
The festival was crazy crowded - kind of like the rodeo for us Houston folks, but outside on the streets. They had lots of different food stands set up, people selling balloons and toys, and lots and lots of candles! The worshippers of St. Agata wear 'pajamas' which means a white robe/dress with a little black hat. These worshippers are either in the street, holding onto a large rope, pulling the float (which contains her remains) of St. Agata, or carrying GIANT lit candles! These candles can weigh up to 70 kilos . . . holy cow! They put padding on their candles and then they light them and carry them around the town for about 6 or 7 hours to pay tribute to Agata. We got some great pics & had a really great time! Enjoy!
Ciao from Sicily!
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