Feast of Saint Nicholas in Bari
9 May 2026 — A gentle wind and a bright lantern for all who sail and believe.
Every year around 9 May, the southern Italian city of Bari commemorates the arrival of the relics of Saint Nicholas, brought from Myra (in present-day Turkey) in 1087. According to tradition, sailors from Bari carried them across the sea and they were later placed in the crypt of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, built especially for them. The celebration is known as the Sagra di San Nicola (the festival of Saint Nicholas). On 8 May the saint's statue is carried to the sea and placed on a boat, followed by a flotilla of decorated vessels; in the evening it returns to shore. The feast is dear to both Catholic and Orthodox pilgrims, who come to venerate the relics. Saint Nicholas is the patron of sailors and of the city. The date is fixed in the solar calendar and does not depend on the phases of the Moon, yet the sea and the sky are always part of the celebration.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver figure of a small decorated fishing boat with a glowing lantern, drawn as a constellation of bright dots and fine lines
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