Sister cities: Carrying parts of Gubbio through Jessup on St. Ubaldo Day
When teams of runners careen through the streets of Jessup on Saturday for St. Ubaldo Day’s iconic Corsa dei Ceri, they weren’t just carrying their saints, they were carrying pieces of Gubbio. In a tradition observed only in Jessup and Gubbio, Italy, runners, or ceraioli, carry statues of St. Ubaldo, St. Anthony and St. George perched atop tall, wo...
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A Recipe for a Festival
A couple of weeks ago, in Jessup, Pennsylvania—the small town next to mine when I was a boy—large crowds of people showed up to celebrate the annual “Race of the Saints,” called in Italian La Corsa dei Ceri, “the Race of the Candles,” because that is what the structures look like. You must imagine, each set and pegged upright on wide and sturdy pla...
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Via ch'eccoli: After two-year break, Race of the Saints returns
After a two-year hiatus thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the streets of Jessup will be filled this weekend with people celebrating a tradition brought here by Italian immigrants decades ago. Whether you’ve never experienced the annual St. Ubaldo Day or you just need a refresher before the big event, here’s what you need to know about la Festa dei C...
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