Each year the GSVVM rowing club in Mestre has a traditional row into town.
The members all dress in Christmas-related costumes.
Most in Santa gear, but some others in more regionally recognized outfits.
Three rowers pause fir a photo at the club
before launching their boat for the row.
On a cold December day, just before the traditional
procession, let's all take a group photo!
After a fun group excursion, all the boats end up in a canal in the
city of Mestre, where families have all converged to see all of the Santas
(the Italian name for Santa, by the way, is "Babbo Natale").
The jam-packed canal is a sea of orange and blue boats...
...populated by a lot of folks in red and white.
Getting the boats tied up is a fun challenge.
Treats are tossed to the children who have come to see the spectacle.
While the procession, the pageantry, and the tossing of treats are all important aspects of this tradition, the main purpose of the whole thing is to bring a symbolic baby Jesus to the nativity scene, to be placed in the manger.
Merry Christmas, my friends.
Merry Christmas and Buon Natale.
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