La Processione at Sts Peter and Paul Parish

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JOSEPH and MARY

THE THREE KINGS

THE POSTER

The procession was held to commemorate the scene where Joseph and Mary were looking for a place to spend the night prior to Mary's giving birth to Emmanuel. The three kings joined the procession in stilt. They guided the parishioners and stopped traffic. Indeed, they were a crowd drawer. Tourists (local and foreign), were in awe upon seeing these three in costumes.

The procession began at Sts. Peter and Paul (our weekday parish) in Filbert ended up in St. Francis of Assisi in Vallejo. The first reading of the bible was held at our park (Washington Square) whereas the second to the 6th ones were recited and held at different stops at various streets in our neighborhood. Then, the final scene was spoken at the entrance of St. Francis where Joseph and Mary were given refuge inside the church. The lights were off and only the candles held by people in their hands guided their path. A huge crowd came by to join and to witness this Catholic event in North Beach, now on its fourth year.

We were given free scented candles each per individual. The singers of Sts. Peter and Paul led the crowd to sing some carols like "Gloria In Excelsis" and "Silent Night." There were hired musicians in Mexican costumes who did the guitar accompaniment and some vocal inspirations, too. Some songs were rendered in Italian otherwise all were mostly sung in English.

Here are some photos of this "La Processione" that graced the joyful hours in our neighborhood last night from 6 PM to 7:30ish PM. The stop-over along Grant near Cafe Trieste was festive. Because this is the cafe/bars area, many people conglomerate here. Surprisingly, the jazz musicians came out from their gig at the bar and did an improv of some jazzy Christmas carols to the delight of the crowd. It was just a memorable night for us to think of. Husband and I retired at the park for some minutes to rest our aching legs and feet. We have began our workout with our individual trainors and this is the culprit of our winter sufferings (LOL). Cheers!

STOP OVER AT ITALIAN-AMERICAN ASSOCATION MARY, AT ST. FRANCIS OF ASSIS PARISH
JAZZ MUSICIANS