I moved from San Francisco to Williamsburg, Brooklyn 10 years ago. Things were different from SF, especially how there were all these huge ethnic enclaves, massive neighborhoods where immigrant communities could thrive for generations without having to lose their customs entirely. Williamsburg itself had a large Hasidic community, Polish community, Dominican community and Italian American community. (and now the white 20-something hipster community)

My landlord (who passed away this year at the age of 87 having kicked it hard while he was here) was born into the building I live in - four generations of his family have lived here. I found it utterly surprising to learn from him one day that he had only been into Manhattan about 4 times in his life. The neighborhood was everything. It is not so much like that anymore. However! There are still many Italian Americans here…screaming to their neighbors out their windows, schmoozing on stoops or playing cards on collapsible sidewalk tables when it’s too humid to be inside, and congregating at the Fortunata Brothers coffee shop to drink cappuccinos and eat cannolis or gelato. And there are many, many Catholic rituals that result in marching bands and parades -- they seem to occur, according to my pantheist calendar, for no apparent reason. One of the biggest occasions of the year is the street fair known alternately as the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (a.k.a the Virgin Mary) or the Giglo Feast, marked by a kinda tacky but fun street fair with bad fried food and kid rides. It's the carnival stuff that us non-Catholics flock to but it is also notable for a bunch of really burly men carrying – no dancing - an extremely heavy and tall statue down the street at varying times. The combined festivals last about two weeks.
Click here for history of the merging of these two festivals and vintage photos)



Gigli means lilies. As symbols of love and purity, they were part of a tradition in the southern Italian town of Nola that commemorated the altruism of a 5th century bishop named San Paolino. Elaborate lily displays became called Gigli, and these flower-laden towers are carried through the streets on the shoulders of hundreds of men. In Nola “the atmosphere is quite competitive and each guild hires the best lifters they can secure, because the carrying of the gigli is judged. Creativity of construction and musical accompaniment is also scrutinized.” (Remind you all of anything?)

Flowers aren't so much a part of the Williamsburg tower but, as an aside, I was just in Italy and witnessed a fantastic flower display as part of a Catholic holiday in the town of Pienza. Flowers decorating the cobblestone roads all the way to the church. Gotta love Italy.

In Williamsburg there is only one tower, “a heavy structure weighing about 4 tons and standing 65 feet in height. The front of the structure is divided into six panels of papier-mache saints, angels, flowers and a map of Italy. On top the giglio is a statue of San Paolino. The tower is anchored on a square platform, large enough to accommodate a band and singer/M.C.” (in addition to traditional music they sometimes play the theme to Rocky and Star Wars). The structure is lifted with attached poles. The Capo Paranza, directs the lifting and “makes constant gestures with his cane, calling out instructions, which are picked up by lieutenants at the corners of the structure and relayed to the lifters. “Four men to a pole, on bent knees, position their shoulders and when 112 men simultaneously stand erect, the giglio is off the ground; it is a lift. There are several lift variations, including a complete rotation (called a 360); a backward march, a quick drop and lift, (called a #2 and a favorite of those who appreciate the difficulty of such maneuver), as well as swaying and bouncing of the giglio.”
(if you drag the play cursor to the middle you skip right to a full view of the Giglio itself.)

I know, I know...you're waiting for the good part. Well, the festival takes over all the streets around the church of Our Lady of Mt Carmel. As I walked around the fair on that final night, I passed by a shrine to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. I realized that this was an SF0 moment. I entered the shrine area, but was feeling a little uncomfortable. Having been to Thailand, I know that it is easy to inadvertently be disrespectful in a place of worship, and while I might not be Catholic, I do respect other people’s spiritual practice. I approached a table where a man and woman sat and they were very friendly, asking if I’d like to make a prayer. I said yes and they handed me a candle, two small packets wrapped in plastic, and a postcard. I walked up to the alter but decided I would pray in my own way and home and slid the items into my bag.

Then the heavens opened and it began to poor. The feast was over.

When I got home I looked at my souvenirs.


I read the card and opened one of the packets. Turns out it is called a scapular and while it is supposedly a very important item where the 100% wool side faces your body, these were made with a brown sinthetic, shrink-wrapped in plastic, and featuring a “made in china” sticker. So much for honoring one’s materials.

However, I loved learning about the lore of this festival and I hope you did too. So cool.

(If this festival is really exciting to you and you just have to know more, click here and then click on giglio story in the top row)