Buona Festa di San Giuseppe
written by: Joseph F Coniglio
“We are born to love, we live to love, and we will die to love still more.” ~ Saint Joseph
Today, March 19, is generally recognized in the Catholic and Christian world as the feast day of Saint Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. Although little is known about this man his feast day is no small thing. He is the patron saint of workers and is a protector of the church. Due to the (unsubstantiated) belief that he died in the presence of Mary and Jesus, he is also patron to the sick.
As I said, little is known about him and there are very few mentions of him in the bible. Most references to him are usually just asides mentioning the carpenter, which was his profession. In the gospel according to Matthew Joseph is told by an angel to marry Mary and take her to Egypt to escape Herod’s persecution. Later, when Jesus is about twelve years old, Joseph is mentioned only because Jesus, while teaching in a temple, comments to his parents that He must be about His Father’s business. Really, from there Joseph is never mentioned again and Mary is considered to be a widow.
The feast of San Giuseppe is a major feast day in the Christian Faith and to Italians in particular. Although he was Jewish, he seems to have been adopted by us and venerated with a few other feast days as well, like May 1st, the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. The day is commemorated by attending mass, wearing the color red and carrying blessed fava beans. This is especially true in Sicily, where he is a patron saint and credited with ending a severe drought which plagued the island and saving the fava bean crop which in turn saved many people from starving.
Now, of course the day is celebrated with food and wine. The traditional dinner is a little more special, a little more ornate than other weeknights, or Sunday. Foods often contain bread crumbs which represent sawdust since Joseph was a carpenter. One of the highlights are the cakes and desserts. Zeppoli and sfingi are most popular and traditional. Zeppoli are round, donut shaped pastries filled with a sweet custard. Sfingi, a favorite of mine, are more like a big cream puff pastry, filled with sweetened ricotta cheese.
This has always been a day that I look forward to. The family is together and it is just a little more special. The foods are great, as always and the pastries are scrumptious. So now, it is time to celebrate. And with my name being Joseph, I get an extra piece of cake!
“Clearly, what God wants above all is our will which we received as a free gift from God in creation and possess as though our own. When a man trains himself to acts of virtue, it is with the help of grace from God from whom all good things come that he does this. The will is what man has as his unique possession.”
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