The Feast of SS. Crocifisso “Patri ri li Grazij”, is one of the most important religious feasts in Ciminna. It has very ancient origins, in fact it took place for the first time in May 1651. Today the feast takes place on the first Sunday in May and the following Monday. On Sunday a solemn mass is celebrated in the San Giovanni Battista Church, inside which there is Christ on the cross and on this occasion is carried in procession to the Mother Church, where it will remain until Monday before returning to the San Giovanni Battista Church . Christ, in procession, is preceded by the simulacrum of San Giovanni supported by the youngest members of the Confraternity. One of the most characteristic moments of the feast is the “furriata ri’ torci“, a folkloristic event which takes place in San Giovanni square, where two groups of seven men, with a candle in their hands, ride harnessed mules performing synchronized turns between throwing sweets, listening to the music from the town marching band, and also the sound of the festive bells and the joy of the faithful.
To understand the importance of the feast just think that every year, during the week preceding the first Sunday of May, many of the Ciminna emigrants return to Ciminna to spend these happy days with their loved ones or for a promise to be fulfilled following a grace received from the “Patri di li Grazij”. Even in the United States, in Chicago where a large community of “Ciminnesi” lives, similar events are organised, with processions and celebrations, repeating what happens in their home country.
