It is strictly Italian-American practice, this business of celebrating the saints and pinning large-denomination dollar bills on the icon of the day's patron saint.

But Boston's Italian-American community invites anyone to watch and even take part in their religious festivals, some of which are being held over the next two weeks (see folk listings).

The North End is Boston's Italian-American community, and during these festivals it is draped and decked with ribbons and lights, the streets are full of children and elders and food and wine.

The food is cheap and exquisite, and the electric atmosphere is both friendly and engrossing at once. But the experience is a foreign one for the most--the spectacle of that painted statue parading down Salem St. with hundreds of howling citizens begging to pin whatever they can afford onto its breast is both repelling and gracious. In America, money seems to accomplish more than prayer, and the religious festival originated in its current form at the turn of the century, when Little Italies sprawled across cities like Boston and New York, full of poor but faithful immigrants.

But whether or not you approve of the dollar-garnished deity, it's their festival, and it's free. And it's fun, festival, and it's free. And it's fun. The Green Line will take you there. Just get off at Haymarket and walk up to Salem St. If you get lost, ask for directions. Or follow the smell or the noise. But if some overbearing food vendor tries to sell you the tripe--an infamous Italian-American delicacy--beware. It's cow intestine.