This is the Giglio. The figure on top is  St. Paulinus of Nola, who lived the latter part of his life (which spanned the 4th and 5th centuries), in Nola, a small town in the Campagna region of southern Italy. The Giglio weighs 4 tons, and at the start of the feast it is lifted and carried by 112 men. There is a separate structure representing a boat, and the two iconic items are carried to the streets in a symbolic pattern, called the dance of the Giglio, to symbolize the return of St. Paulinus to Nola after his captivity in North Africa. The traditions began 1600 years ago.

North African raiders conquered Nola and took many townspeople as slaves. St. Paulinus offered himself as a captive in return for the freedom of a widow’s son. Two years later he won his freedom (according to some accounts through the intervention of a Turkish sultan) and returned triumphantly to Nola. When he died, townspeople brought boquets of lilies (giglio in Italian) to the church. As the years went on, the lilies were placed on poles, then the poles got bigger, then there was one giant pole with a huge base and  a statute of the Saint on top. For more details on the story, read this account. Italian immigrants brought the tradition with them to this country. I believe there is another version of the Giglio tradition in East Harlem.

The Dance of the Giglio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is done in conjunction with the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and run by Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church. The feast begins on July 4, and runs through July 16 which is the feast day for Our Lady. The dance takes place 3 times during each festival.

Being a Giglio lifter is a great honor, and places are handed down from generation to generation. I visited the fair with my family on July 8, not at a time when the dance occurred, yet the streets were still filled with men wearing the outfit. I believe there had been a lift earlier that day, but I am not certain.

The feast mixes sacred and secular. You can visit and eat sausage and peppers or cotton candy, you can play carnival style games or ride the ferris wheel and other attractions.

Nearly the entire time, however, there are religious services and prayers being offered in the church, culminating in a day-long series of celebration masses for the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, including one celebrated by the Bishop of Brooklyn (currently Nicholas DiMarzio) and also including masses in 5 languages — English, Italian, Polish, Creole, and Spanish.

The images above were taken on Kodak Gold 400 film with a Contax G2.