happen to be many and varied. We should first mention ordinary Sundays and liturgical solemnities. Among the latter the following stand out: the Christmas novena and Christmas Day; the Epiphany; Holy Week; Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Corpus Christi. Easter was prepared for and followed by a great number of confessions and communions by boys and girls in the weekend (festive) oratories.1172 Don Bosco gave special educational import to some Marian celebrations, for individuals and the
'cleaning up' process in the community: Mary's birthday i n September; the Immaculate Conception in
December; Mary Help of Christians on May 24 (this feast was the most important celebration of all
because it reminded everyone about the beginning of the oratory work) and the feast of the
Assumption.
May 24 was no t only the feast of the oratory but soon became a popular and pilgrim feast with
additional extraordinary manifestations, both sacred and profane, involving the organisation of various
activities which to the Salesians and the young people working with th em.
1173
Some festivities in honour of particular special saints were celebrated with greater intensity: St Francis
de Sales, St Joseph, St Aloysius Gonzaga, St John The Baptist (This feast also marked the date of the
annual meeting for pupils and past pupils around Don Bosco), the feast of St Peter which was also the
feast of the Pope, All Saints Day, St Cecilia patroness of musicians, and finally the patron saint of each
educational institution. The June 24 feast was quite special: it began on the vigil and b ecame the model for all the Feast Days of Gratitude celebrated at different times in the Salesian houses and oratories.
The Salesian Bulletin from l879 on gave us plenty of information about this feast at Valdocco and also
reminisced on the meetings Don Bo sco had with the past pupils of the oratory, priest and lay, in
July.
1174
Many of the feast days were characterised by an extraordinary display of music, singing and splendid
religious services. Triduums and novenas also preceded them. Some months were livene d up and given educational value by encouraging the youngsters to take part as fully as they could: the Marian month
of May; March in honour of St. Joseph, very close to the almost corporate interests of the working
boys, October's Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Fr Ceria writes that
Don Bosco was constantly concerned with offering young minds and imagination a varied
pasture to graze on which might turn them away from thinking about less good things.
So he steered theatrical performances towards the same aim as feast days in and out of church. He made sure that the feasts would be celebrated with pomp and cheerfulness but
also at such intervals that as soon as the excitement caused by one feast day was fading
away, the expectation of another feast day was aroused
1175
A blending of reflection times and festivities was also found in the monthly 'exercise for a happy
death’, at the yearly retreat, in the triduum at the beginning of the school year: outings and festivities were always added to them, for instance:vintage, chestnut harvests, award celebrations. The springtime yearly outing1176 was given particular attention and was well -prepared ahead of time. We have already
1172 Cf J.M. Prellezzo, Valdocco nell'Ottocento..., pp. 83, 109-111, 189.
1173 Cf J.M. Prellezzo, Valdocco nell'Ottocento..., pp. 79, 93, 101-102, 114-118, 155-156, 177-178, 199-200, 202-206.
However, in the first general chapter in 1877, “they spoke of the danger for morality of mixing 'omnia generis' at the
festivities for Mary Help of Christians and in other boarding schools on special occasions” (G. Barberis, Verbali, quad. I
143-144).
1174 BS 3 (1879) no. 7, July, pp. 8-9; 4 (1880) no. 9, Sept, pp. 9-12; 5 (1881) no. 8, August, pp. 15-16; 6 (1882) no. 7,
July, pp 122-123;...
1175 MB XII 136.
1176 He analyses this in the “conferences” to teachers, to see the results, inconveniences, see hoe to improve them. Cf.