(map) Marina di Vietri, Campania
The Catholic Church teaches that man is cleansed from “original sin” at birth. But in 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed that Mary was born without sin and therefore was pure enough to be the mother of Jesus.
December 8th celebrates this phenomenon. In Marina di Vietri, around 2am, bells ring out, announcing the start of the procession and a band plays, leading the faithful from the Chiesa on the hill with the statue of the Virgin Mary on their shoulders. Flowers surround her and a halo of lights shines above her head. Intermittently the band pauses and the “Hail Mary” is recited in Italian (Ave Maria, piena di grazia, il Signore è con te, tu sei benedetta fra le donne.) like a mantra, over and over as they wind their way through the little streets and down to the beach.
Three unlit bonfires await, each one larger than the last, until finally, a very large one, 
slats of wood with dried tree branches affixed to them like rustic Christmas trees. Young men and boys carry long poles with rags tied around them. One douses them with gasoline, while older men shout “Poco! Poco” (a little bit! a little bit!) and the torches (and the area around their feet as well) shoot up into flame and are heaved onto the trees that erupt into flames. Sparks light up the night sky like fireworks.
The procession with the Madonna then makes its way back up the hill to the church to celebrate Mass. With all the fires and flames, it seems more like a pagan celebration than a religious event but it is thrilling to watch!
-- Contributed by Rosemary and Bob Connelly (see bio), artists who fulfilled their dream to "Live Cheap and Make Art" in Italy. Their website www.livecheapmakeart.com showcases their watercolors and photographs.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I believe that the Catholic Church teaches that we are born with “original sin” and it is washed away at baptism – not birth as stated in today’s ItalianNotebook piece.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Great post! Breathtaking photos!! WOnderful wonderful wonderful!!!
Ciao Lola xx
December 9th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
If I remember my catechism, man is born with original sin that’s why unbaptized babies went to limbo. So, baptism is what cleanses the soul.
Right?
December 9th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Actually, the Catholic Church teaches that man is cleansed from “original sin” not at birth but at Baptism.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I know what you mean – but think it more accurate to say that the Church teaches that man is stained or tainted – not cleansed – from “original sin” at birth. Baptism supposedly cleanses one from “original sin”. Thank Augustine for that bit of nutty reasoning. – - – I enjoy reading the Notebook – you are marvelous writers.
Bill Braun
December 9th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Yes, an exciting and beautiful sight such bonfires. In southern Italy about 50 years ago, August the 15th each year was when you could see fires all over the countryside. Literally…everywhere. BIG FIRES! They were set in the fields by farmers “in order to burn off” the crop stubble as well as “to fertilize the ground” for the next planting. We learned there was another reason for the fires: they were to “light Mary’s way to heaven.” August the 15th was in fact Ascension Day, according to Catholic tradition, the bodily Ascension of Mary. In Switzerland instead, August the first was their “National Day,” marking the day in 791(?) when Switzerland became a single nation–their unification Day. They still light fires every year. It’s quite a sight to see these huge bonfires at every town on both sides of Lake Zurich. Some of them would go on burning for hours, long after the fireworks had ignited the sky!
December 9th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Thanks for the beauitful pictures and information.
Today, theologians tend to consider original sin as the partially distorted world that all are born into–racism, for example, manifests original sin–and not something genetically transmitted in individuals. The doctrine of Mary as born without original sin is a symbol of the divine guarantee that the Savior born to her will achieve the divine purpose: to provide the solution to the problem of evil. God takes no chances.
One more thing: pagans are religious too.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Thank you all for correcting the failing memory of my catechism! And yes, pagans are religious, thank you for pointing that out – I merely meant that you don’t often see this type of religious expression in a Catholic religious service. But thanks to everyone for your comments and appreciation of the photographs.