Feast of St. Joseph a Celebration of Fathers and Faith


Every March, Italian Americans look to St. Joseph to light the way forward.

By: Francesca Montillo, Lazy Italian Culinary Adventures

La Festa Di San Giuseppe

Always held on March 19th, the feast honors Joseph, husband to the Virgin Mary and earthly father to Jesus. It is also the day in which Italy celebrates Father’s Day. And if your name is Joseph or Josephine, you will also be celebrating your “onomastico.”

An onomastico honors your “name,” and St. Joseph, St. Francis, St. Anthony, St. Anne, St. Catherine and so forth, are all celebrated name days in Italy. Not quite a birthday, an onomastico is an occasion for Italians to celebrate with family, friends, and of course, a cake or pastries.

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While St. Joseph and Father’s Day are celebrated all over Italy, the feast of St. Joseph is more prominent in Southern Italy, particularly Sicily, where he is the Patron Saint,

St. Joseph is credited to have saved Sicily’s residents during one of their many devastating droughts. Tradition has it that residents prayed to St. Joseph for rain. The rain came, and as such, their spring crops were spared from being destroyed, preventing a widespread famine for Sicily. It is widely believed that this is the reason the celebration is held in March.

A traditional “altar” or “St. Joseph’s Table” is also popular in Italy. Placed in private homes, churches, social clubs and even cafes, creating a table for St. Joseph is commonplace. Many Italians brought that tradition with them to the States and while it is less common these days, it is something older Sicilians still take great pride in. The table is filled with gifts, both of food and sentimental ones, offered to the saint in thanksgiving for prayers answered.

Generally, a statue of St. Joseph is placed at the head of the table and is surrounded by gifts of various foods, citrus fruits, and of course, breads. On the feast day, an open house is held, inviting friends and family to join in the celebration of eating the gifts left on the table. Fava beans, one of the spared crops, represent good luck and abundance, so be sure to add them to your table on March 19.

As with anything in Italy, the menu for a St. Joseph celebration is rooted in tradition. Because the holiday falls during lent, meat is generally not eaten on the feast day. Foods containing breadcrumbs, or the “poor man’s parmigiano” are enjoyed. Joseph, as you might know, was a carpenter, so breadcrumbs are eaten to resemble the sawdust left behind after a day’s work in the carpenter’s shop. Lemons, like fava beans, are said to bring good luck, particularly to the single ladies looking for a husband.

While relatively unknown to the non-Italian U.S. population, one city that widely celebrates this feast day is New Orleans. Louisiana used to be a popular arrival port for Sicilians and at one point, the French Quarter was known as “Little Palermo.” Celebrations occur, even to this day, with traditional foods and festivities.

While fava beans, lemons, breads and seafood are frequently eaten on the feast day of San Giuseppe, and are certainly delicious; my all time favorite food to enjoy is the Zeppole di San Giuseppe. Found in any respectable Italian bakery, both in the States and in Italy, a zeppola is a pastry, almost resembling a cream puff, but fried, and tastier, if you ask me. After it’s fried, the zeppola is cut in the middle and filled with various flavored creams or sweetened ricotta.

It’s frequently topped with amarena, a sour cherry preserve, and dusted with confectionary sugar. Delicious by itself or enjoyed with a cup of espresso, if you do nothing else this upcoming holiday, be sure to enjoy a zeppola in honor of San Giuseppe and say a little prayer of thanksgiving for the gifts you have been granted.

 

Click here for a delicious St. Joseph’s zeppole recipe. 

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