The ritual of the Cunfrunta that animates Taverna

In Taverna every year, on the day of January 6, the feast of the Epiphany, there is a celebration that is deeply felt by the citizens and not only, which is called 'la Cunfrunta'. The rite, which consists of a singular procession, is anticipated the previous days by a novena animated by the congregation that is in charge of organizing the celebrations. On the day of the Epiphany the city, decorated with Christmas lights, attends the meeting of the members of the Holy Family. In fact, the statues of Mary, Joseph and the Child Jesus are carried in procession, who is depicted standing on the globe and holding his illuminated cross in his hand. The most evocative moment of the procession is the arrival in the square, when the bearers stage a sort of ballet during which the sacred icons meet and then return to separate. The influx of people is always very high because there are those who return to the city for the occasion, and because the inhabitants of the neighboring municipalities also participate until the conclusion of the ceremony in the church.