Saint Joseph's Day, March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph or Solemnity of Saint Joseph is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a Solemnity in the Roman Catholic Church, a feast in the provinces of the Anglican Communion, and a feast or festival in the Lutheran Church. Saint Joseph's Day is the Patronal Feast day for persons named Joseph, Josephine, etc., for religious orders, schools and parishes bearing his name, and for carpenters. It is also Father's Day in some Catholic countries, mainly Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
March 19th always falls during Lent and according to Canon law if the feast day falls on a Friday, the obligation to abstain from meat or do penance is lifted. If the feast day falls on a Sunday (other than Palm Sunday), it is observed on the next later available date instead: this is the following day, Monday March 20. From 2008 onwards, if St Joseph's Day falls during Holy Week, it is moved to the next earlier available date, usually the Saturday before Holy Week. This does not apply to Traditional Roman Catholics who follow the older calendar and maintain his feast on March 19 as well as on the Wednesday before the Third Sunday after Easter.
St. Josesph's Day in Italy
In Sicily, where St. Joseph is regarded by many as their Patron Saint, and many Italian-American communities, thanks are given to St. Joseph ("San Giuseppe" in Italian) for preventing a famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages. According to legend, there was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain. They promised that if he answered their prayers, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint. The fava bean was the crop which saved the population from starvation, and is a traditional part of St. Joseph's Day altars and traditions. Giving food to the needy is a St. Joseph's Day custom. In some communities it is traditional to wear red clothing and eat a Sicilian pastry known as a Zeppole on St. Joseph's Day.
Upon a typical St. Joseph's Day altar, people place flowers, limes, candles, wine, fava beans, specially prepared cakes, breads, and cookies (as well as other meatless dishes), and zeppole. Foods are traditionally served containing bread crumbs to represent saw dust since St. Joseph was a carpenter. Because the feast occurs during Lent, traditionally no meat was allowed on the celebration table. The altar usually has three tiers, to represent the trinity. Some villages like Belmonte Mezzagno use to burn wood and logs in squares on the day before St.Joseph, as thanksgiving to the Saint. This is called "'A Vampa di San Giuseppe"(the Saint Joseph's bonfire).
St. Joseph's Day in Malta
This is one of the public holidays in Malta, known as Jum San Ġużepp. In this day people celebrate mass in the morning, and in the afternoon go for a picnic in the countryside. It is a liturgical feast in the localities of Kalkara, Manikata, Msida, and Qala, but the Maltese typical festa each of these localities celebrate it in a particular Sunday in summer. However, the city of Rabat celebrates the traditional Maltese feast on the 19th of March, where in the evening a procession is also held with the statue of St Joseph. On this day also the city of Żejtun celebrates the day, known as Jum iż-Żejtun (Zejtun's Day). In the past years the Żejtun Parish Church has celebrated these feast days with a procession with the statue of St Joseph.
St. Joseph's Day in Spain
In Spain, the day is a version of Father's Day. In some parts of Spain it is celebrated as Falles. The Falles (in Valencian) are a Valencian traditional celebration in praise of Saint Joseph in Valencia, Spain. The term Falles refers to both the celebration and the monuments created during the celebration. Each neighbourhood of the city has an organized group of people, the Casal faller, that works all year long holding fundraising parties and dinners, usually featuring the famous speciality paella. Each casal faller produces a construction known as a falla which is eventually burnt. A casal faller is also known as a comissió fallera.
St. Joseph's Day in The Philippines
In the Philippines, many families keep a tradition in which an old man, a young lady and a small boy are chosen from among the poor and are dressed up as St. Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and the child Jesus, respectively. They are then seated around a table set with the family's best silverware and china, and served a variety of courses, sometimes being literally spoon-fed by the senior members of the family, while the Novena to St. Joseph is recited at a nearby temporary altar.
St. Joseph's Day in the United States of America
In New Orleans, Louisiana, which was a major port of entry for Sicilian immigrants during the late 19th century, the Feast of St. Joseph is a city-wide event. Both public and private St. Joseph's altars are traditionally built. The altars are usually open to any visitor who wishes to pay homage. The food is generally distributed to charity after the altar is dismantled. There are also parades in honor of St. Joseph and the Italian population of New Orleans which are similar to the many marching clubs and truck parades of Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day. Tradition in New Orleans also holds that by burying a small statue of St. Joseph in your yard, your house will sell more promptly. In addition to the above traditions, some groups of Mardi Gras Indians stage their last procession of the season on the Sunday prior to St. Joseph's day otherwise known as "Super Sunday," after which their costumes are dismantled. In the Mid-Atlantic regions, St Joseph's day is traditionally associated with the return of anadromous fish, such as striped bass, to their natal rivers, such as the Delaware. St Joseph's Day is also celebrated in other American communities with high proportions of Italians such as New York City; Buffalo; Chicago; Kansas City, MO; Gloucester, Mass.; and Rhode Island. St. Joseph's Day is also the day when the swallows are traditionally believed to return to Mission San Juan Capistrano after having flown south for the winter.
Information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falles and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Joseph's_Day
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