Saint's Day 2016

Hello from Sorrento, Italy. Today was a national holiday, Saint Antonin day. This holiday is religious, specifically geared towards Catholics and happens to fall on Valentine's day. Instead of giving candy to each other during class, candy stands could be found through out the streets of the city. In the morning, there was a parade where people part of the church carried a statue of the Saint through out town. This was accommodated by the never ending sounds of bells and fire works. From my apartment, it sounded like cannons were being fired off. While the streets were noisy, there was a moment during the parade where everyone became completely silent. As a foreigner, I did not know why. However, I would deduce it is out of respect of Saint Antonin. If I were to compare it, I would say it was a moment of silence accept no one had to be told to be quiet. I was in another country as outsider, but I will tell you what remains the same. Whenever there is a holiday, there is money to be made. The streets were filled with vendors of all sorts. One street vendor was selling pets, such as birds, turtles, fish, and rabbits. I found this quite amusing. I wondered to myself, are there any holidays in the world that absolutely do not try to profit off of the people celebrating? I might have to research more cultures to find the answer. In the link below are three pictures.

https://twitter.com/MAC_UH_BEE/status/698964055260860417

The first picture is of Piazza Tasso. This is Sorrento's main square. As you can see, it is full of people walking the streets despite heavy on and off rain. Underneath the "snowflake-like" light is a statue of Saint Antonin. I found that the streets at night were just as busy in the day.

The second photo is of a chocolate churner, if that's even what they call them. I like how they melted down the chocolate on the spot. Just another example of how the food is so freshly prepared in Italy.

The third photo is what I mentioned earlier. As you can see, they are carrying a statue of Saint Antonin. I was wondering how much the statue weighed.

Overall, it was a really fun day full of festivities and a great end to Carnivale. Keep coming here for more information about my time in Sorrento, Italy.

Ciao!