The 136th Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Hammonton , New Jersey

  The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and its religious procession has changed over the years and some bemoan this fact.  But I have no problem.  I am thrilled that the long tradition still exists.  Yes, the huge throngs of the faithful are gone but the yearly, largely cultural, events bring to mind the history of the town of Hammonton and a sort of reunion for relatives and friends.  I suggest that if you have refrained from attending the event you give it a try next year and try not to think so much about what it used to be.  It still remains a wonderful celebration for those who participate.




  See the vintage photo below:

   

   There have been many changes and some churches have closed but this one remains as the focus of the celebration and is where the procession begins.

Met up with some of my cousins:

Cousin Helen:

Cousins Anthony and Maryland:

Cousin Cristina and Sister Rosemarie looking at the map and spotting the Campli region, the area from where our ancestors came from:

Our Lady of Mount Carmel:

     There are still the faithful as evidenced by the numerous participants of wheelchair bound participants. There were people kneeling in  prayer and lighting candles at the station with the votive candles. Others were honoring their favorite saint by making donations that were pinned on ribbons draping the saint.  Years ago I remember people making additional sacrifices that were made like walking in bare feet or even kneeling along the route of the procession.  I saw several of the faithful with rosary beads but I didn't hear any "Hail Mary" prayers.  I waited until the end to approach the priests with my donation and I received a petite scapula--certainly a down-size from the ones I remember as a child but still very special. 

Candles are lit for prayer intentions:

The faithful:

Of course the town officials were present in the procession:

A thank-you goes out to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society:




http://mountcarmelsociety.homestead.com/

On the right is the president of the society, Louis Pantalone:

 Another participant band was the Verdi Marching Band playing traditional old time Italian-American music that seems not to have changed in the past fifty years.  I noticed that there were some young members giving me hope that this traditional type of music will continue in the future.  I got a a few "stills" of this band but I had to go to You Tube to find a previous video of the band! Now you can hear some of the um-pah music.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRVtZ44lrk8


http://verdiband.com/

  It is referred to as an Italian Festival but with the influx of Mexican Americans, I was happy to see a troupe that was honoring Saint Guadalupe.  The dancing and drill maneuvers were worthy of a stage show presentation. The drummer kept the rhythm going, the maracas and the wooden beads on the skirts were a delight for the eyes and ears.  There seemed to be the older troupe with the red shirts and the younger group with the purple.  Both outfits were adorned with sequins and other colorful details and an embroidered applique of the likeness of Saint Guadalupe.

                Local Regional Hammonton High School participated:

  Some saints that I do not remember from my youth were added: St. Martin de Porres, Padre Pio, and St. Guadalupe. Donations were collected for the various societies that honored several saints including Saint Rita, Saint Theresa, Saint Anthony, Saint Joseph and others. There were 18 images or statues--many more from what I remember.

  In addition to the procession, there were special masses and novenas. There are the carnival rides including a side show and the games of chance. Other local organizations set up their raffle booths.  There has been an evolution of the favorite raffle.  When I was young it was a Cadillac that was given as the grand prize and then it went down to a less luxurious car and now it is a money prize with certain percentages of the take given away.  Last year over $20,000 was given away. There are stands for beer, lemonade, Italian ice, cannolis, religious articles, Italian sandwiches and Italian banners and T-shirts---just about anything that is designated as "Italian" stuff.  Definitely there is also a Hispanic presence as well.  I saw a long line at a tortilla-type stand.  My niece knew what they were serving but I am not familiar with Mexican food.  But in that long line there was only one couple that I could identify as probably Mexican---so much for Italian specialties!  And you can't forget the culmination which was an impressive display of fireworks.  Somehow they got the money for that. Fireworks are an expensive production in this economy but that hasn't changed from when I was little because I remember that they would go house to house to collect the funds for the fireworks.  And I haven't seen the ground fireworks in years so my guess is that they don't have that any more either.