The tradition of creating dyed sawdust carpets to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi continued for the sixth year Sunday at Holy Martyrs Roman Catholic Parish in West Tarentum.
According to the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, the idea of sawdust carpets originated at a seminary in the Black Forest region of Germany. The tradition came to the Tarentum area in 1943, when the Rev. James MacNamara, assistant pastor of the former Sacred Heart Parish, suggested it as a good way to mark the feast.
Members of Holy Martyrs and neighboring parishes have created the colorful carpets annually for more than 70 years.
