Un tempo era la grande festa  di Napoli che coinvolgeva tutta la città il 19 settembre di ogni anno  in occasione dello scioglimento del sangue del Santo Patrono da cui si traevano auspici  per la sorte della città   per l'anno seguente. Il rito dello scioglimento del sangue avviene  sempre nella cattedrale  ma la folla non è quella di un tempo, vociante e inquieta da cui si levavano le grida  supplichevoli ma a a volte propriamente minacciose verso il santo perchè facesse il "miracolo"

 Ora la folla che riempie la cattedrale è composta  e ordinata come si addice a  una chiesa.

 A parte  poche bancarelle che ancora resistono  nelle immediate vicinanze del Duomo la città non è in festa, quasi non si accorge dell'avvenimento

 Il nome stesso di Gennaro tende a sparire dalla città tanto che il cardinale molte volte ha rivolto appello ai cittadini per l'antico nome che non vada perso. 

 Per ritrovare la festa bisogna andare a New York: infatti molte agenzie di viaggio organizzano tour per i napoletani che vogliano vederla. è strano non da New York a Napoli ma da Napoli a New York

http://www.sangennaro.org

The 79th Annual Feast of San Gennaro, New York City's oldest, biggest and best street festival, will be celebrated starting Thursday, September 14, and continuing for 11 days through Sunday, September 24, 2006.

Presented annually since 1996 by Figli di San Gennaro, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, this year’s Feast will again bring more than 1 million people to the streets of Little Italy in the annual salute to the Patron Saint of Naples. The street festivities – including parades, entertainment, food stands and a cannoli-eating contest – are capped on September 19th with a celebratory Mass and candlelit procession as the Statue of the Saint is carried from its permanent home in Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street.

"The 2005 Feast of San Gennaro will be bringing the world to Little Italy, and Little Italy to the world," said Frank Macchiarola, President of Figli di San Gennaro, Inc. "It is a time for remembrance and reconciliation, and a time for celebration. The good food, the free musical entertainment and the excitement will all be there. Join us to celebrate Little Italy and the Feast of San Gennaro."

The beloved Feast of San Gennaro is an annual celebration of the Patron Saint of Naples. The first Feast in New York City took place on September 19, 1926 when newly arrived immigrants from Naples settled along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of New York City and decided to continue the tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate the day in 305 A.D. when Saint Gennaro was martyred for the faith.

Since then, the Feast has grown from a one-day street party to a gala 11-day event. On September 19 during each Feast, a Religious Procession, including the Statue of San Gennaro, winds along the length of Mulberry and Mott Streets, between Canal and Houston Streets. The procession begins immediately following a Celebratory Mass held at the Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street, the National Shrine of San Gennaro.

"Although there is a party atmosphere that permeates the Feast, this is really a  religious celebration that has become a proud tradition handed down from our grandparents," a Figli di San Gennaro, Inc. and longtime neighborhood resident says. "For 11 days and nights the streets of Little Italy are filled with happy people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds eating fabulous Italian cuisine, listening to great live entertainment and just having a wonderful time. But there is a religious purpose behind it which is never forgotten, and that becomes evident on September 19th, the Saint's Day."

O

Italian version  

THE" BETRAYAL"OF SAINT GENNARO

( by Giovanni De Sio Cesari ) ( www.giovannidesio.it )

Since the middle ages Neapolitans were most devoted to Saint Gennaro: The veneration over the centuries grew more and more intensely and reached the apex between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Nevertheless there was a moment when the Neapolitans did not want Saint Gennaro for their Patron Saint and was downrightly accused of "betrayal".

 It happened as a result of the events of the French revolution.  In 1799 a French army guided by Championet invaded the reign of Naples. Although King Ferdinand IV had large army, strong fleet, impregnable fortresses and above all the support of the population he preferred to escape to Sicily abandoning Naples in the most complete disorder.  The poor people of the city, the so-called “lazzari”, however, attempted a defence and faced the French at Porta Capuana.  From the top of the gate they shot bravely against the French formations.  But the French with order and discipline fearlessly advanced and charged the gate with bayonets. The defence of the Neapolitans was still fierce when in a

moment rumor spread that San Gennaro

had performed the “miracle”. The lazzari thought it to be a sign of approval  by Saint Gennaro toward the French.

The bands of  difensor withdrew

abandoning every resistance.  Immediately Championnet went personally to the Cathedral to pay homage to the Patron Saint in order to dispel every doubt of hostility between the French (and the revolutionary) and Saint Gennaro. The Republica Partenopea was established.  However, it had short and distressed life because of  the irreducible hostility of the majority of the inhabitants of the Reign.   Bands of calabrian peasants, were  organized in defence of the Holy Faith (so-called Sanfedisti).   When the French withdrew the bands of calabrians entered the city with exultation.of the people   Nearly many  houses of the supporters of the republic (all rich and noble) were ransacked. Some were hanged later in public in The Piazza del Mercato (Market Square).  The Neapolitans remembered the episode of the miracle of the blood during the crash of Porta Capuna. The Saint was accused of “betrayal”. The Neapolitans wanted another patron Saint and therefore, chose Saint Peter.  The church did not accept the substitution and reinstated Saint Gennaro whose cult remained always.  “Even the saints are on the side of the strongest”, Napoleone said:  God is always on the side of the large infantry battalions.

Il "miracolo di San Gennaro   (Giovanni De Sio Cesari ) http://www.giovannidesio.it/s.gennaro/cornice.htm