St. Joseph's Day is a big Feast for Italians because in the Middle Ages, God, through St. Joseph's intercessions, saved the Sicilians from a very serious drought. So in his honor, the custom is for all to wear red, in the same way that green is worn on St. Patrick's Day.
Today, after Mass (at least in parishes with large Italian populations), a big altar ("la tavola di San Giuse" or "St. Joseph's Table") is laden with food contributed by everyone (note that all these St. Joseph celebrations might take place on the nearest, most convenient weekend). Different Italian regions celebrate this day differently, but all involve special meatless foods: minestrone, pasta with breadcrumbs (the breadcrumbs symbolize the sawdust that would have covered St. Joseph's floor), seafood, Sfinge di San Giuseppe, and, always, fava beans, which are considered "lucky" because during the drought, the fava thrived while other crops failed (recipes below).
The table -- which is always blessed by a priest -- will be in three tiers, symbolizing the Most Holy Trinity. The top tier will hold a statue of St. Joseph surrounded by flowers and greenery. The other tiers might hold, in addition to the food: flowers (especially lilies); candles; figurines and symbolic breads and pastries shaped like a monstrance, chalices, fishes, doves, baskets, St. Joseph's staff, lilies, the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts, carpentry tools, etc.; 12 fishes symbolizing the 12 Apostles; wine symbolizing the miracle at Cana; pineapple symbolizing hospitality; lemons for "luck"; bread and wine (symbolizing the Last Supper); and pictures of the dead. There will also be a basket in which the faithful place prayer petitions.
The cry "Viva la tavola di San Giuse!" begins the feasting and is heard throughout the day. When the eating is done, the St. Joseph's altar is smashed, and then three children dressed as the Holy Family will knock on three doors, asking for shelter. They will be refused at the first two, and welcomed at the third, in memory of the Holy Family's seeking of hospitality just before Christ was born. This re-enactment is called "Tupa Tupa," meaning "Knock Knock."
The day ends with each participant taking home a bag that might be filled with bread, fruit, pastries, cookies, a medal of St. Joseph, a Holy Card and/or a blessed fava bean. Keep your "lucky bean," and let it remind you to pray to St. Joseph. (The Litany of St. Joseph would be most appropriate today! You can download the Litany, in Microsoft Word .doc format, in English and in Latin).
Recipes for the day:
Minestrone (serves 4)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, with leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can of tomatoes, with juice
1 large can white beans (Cannelli beans or Navy beans)
5 cups beef or vegetable stock
1/2 cup flat parsley, finely chopped
1 cup finely sliced, then roughly chopped Swiss Chard (or spinach or cabbage, or some combination)
2 zucchini, unpeeled and cut into little cubes
1/2 cup small pasta (like ditalini)
For garnish: freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Sauté the onion and celery in the oil til wilted, toss in garlic and stir for a minute, then put in cut-up tomatoes and cook down for about 10 minutes to concentrate flavors. Stir in beef stock, reserved tomato juice, and beans and bring to a boil. Add half the parsley, lower heat, and cook for about 30 minutes.
Add Swiss chard (or spinach or cabbage), zucchini, and pasta and cook at a gentle boil until pasta is tender.
When ready to serve, stir in the rest of the parsley. Season to taste and grate in some black pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve with the parmesan and a crusty bread.
Pasta di San Giuse (pasta with breadcrumbs that symbolize sawdust)
Note: This recipe came from my parish's website, and was said to be in tribute of "Mamma Giglio." I don't know who Mamma Giglio is, but I don't want to omit the dedication to an Italian Mamma!
Cooked pasta
Sauce:
2 TBSP olive oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped fresh fennel
2 cups crushed tomatoes
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP chopped fresh basil
4 cans of drained, skinless, boneless sardines
Heat oil in large pot, and saute in it the garlic and pepper flakes. Add the fennel, tomatoes, paste, and basil. Cover and let simmer 30 minutes 'til fennel is tender. Add the sardines and simmer a few more minutes.
Topping:
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup fine homemade breadcrumbs
Heat oil, and add crumbs and heat until golden brown. Pour sauce over the pasta, then sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.
Sfinge di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Cream Puffs)
Sfinge:
1 cup water
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 TBSP sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Pinch of salt
1 cup sifted flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 TBSP Cognac or vanilla
Filling:
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup grated dark chocolate
2 TBSP finely chopped pistachios
Garnish:
Powdered sugar
Lemon rind
Put water, butter, granulated sugar, lemon rind, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, and as soon as the butter has melted, remove from heat. Add the flour all at once, stirring constantly and with vigor.
Return the pan to the heat, and stir constantly until the mixture forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the pan. Cook just a little longer, until you hear a slight crackling, frying sound. Remove the pan from the heat, and cool slightly.
Add the eggs, one at a time. Be sure that each egg is thoroughly blended into the mixture before you add the next. Stir until smooth and thoroughly blended . Add the Cognac or vanilla. Cover the dough and let it stand for 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400º F.
Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonsful on a buttered cookie sheet or onto parchment-lined sheet (better!), leaving 2 inches between the sfinge. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.
Filling: Mix the ricotta, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, and pistachios. Just before serving (so they don't get soggy!), cut off the tops of the sfinge and fill; place top back on after filling. Arrange on platter, sprinkle with powdered sugar to make them pretty, and garnish platter with lemon rind.
Fava Beans
1 lb. dried fava beans
1 bunch green onions
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
3 bay leaves
chopped parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Cook dried fava beans in boiling water until tender, adding more water as needed. Sauté seasonings in olive oil 'til tender, then add to beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in soup bowls.
A most fascinating and beautiful thing that happens today is the return of the cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) to the Mission of San Juan Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano, California. The mission -- one of the oldest buildings in California, and a part of a string of 21 missions that line California's coast -- was founded on 1 November 1776, the Feast of All Saints, by the Franciscan priest,
Bl. Junipero Serra, in honor of St. John Capistrano. It was begun the year before, with members of a friendly Indian tribe helping to build, but when word came that the Mission of San Diego was attacked by an unfriendly Indian tribe, the bells were buried and everyone took shelter until building could continue. When the mission was finally completed, a small town grew up around it, and this is where the legend of the swallows -- "las golondrinas" -- begins. It is said that one of the priests noticed a storekeeper in town angrily sweeping down the swallows’ nests and chasing away the "dirty birds." The priest, being a Franciscan, of course invited the poor little birds to the Mission where there was "room for all." The birds, sensing the spirit of St. Francis around the place, followed and have remained loyal to the Mission ever since. No matter the origins of the story, the fact is that each year on 23 October, the swallows fly south for 7,500 miles to Goya, Argentina. There they winter until the end of February when they make their way home, arriving back at the Mission of Capistrano on St. Joseph's Day, where they are greeted with the ringing of church bells and great festivities. Click hear to listen to the chatter of these lovely birds. A love song was written with this return of the swallows as its focal point; it was recorded by the Ink Spots, Glenn Miller, Pat Boone, and Elvis Presley (click here for an MP3 of the Inkspots's version of this lovely song):
When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano
Words and Music by Rene Leon, Copyright © 1940/1969
When the swallows come back to Capistrano
That's the day you promised to come back to me.
When you whispered farewell in Capistrano
'Twas the day the swallows flew out to the sea.
All the mission bells will ring
The chapel choir will sing
The happiness you'll bring
Will live in my memory.
When the swallows come back to Capistrano
That's the day I pray that you'll come back to me.
While the altar candles burn
My heart is burning too
If you should not return
I'll still be waiting for you.
When the swallows come back to Capistrano
That's the day I pray that you'll come back to me,
That's the day I pray that you'll come back to me.
St. Joseph is symbolized by carpenters' tools and the lily, and is usually represented in art holding the Baby Jesus. He is the patron of the Church, the dying, a holy death (because it is believed he died in the company of Our Lord and Lady), happy family life, married people, carpenters, workers, and the fight against Communism. Other devotions and customs related to St. Joseph throughout the year include:
- the celebration of 1 May as the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, a Feast instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1956
- Novenas to St. Joseph
- special devotions to him on Wednesdays and during the month of March
- the St. Joseph Scapular
- St. Joseph's Cinctures
- burying St. Joseph statues or medals when trying to sell a home
- it is an old custom for some couples to abstain from the marital act on the first night of their honeymoon, dedicating the first night of marriage to St. Joseph (making the night "St. Joseph's Night"), and performing some devotion to the Saint. This is in keeping with the spirit of Tobias who, with his wife, Sara, spent the first three days and nights or their marriage in prayer
- adding the prayer to St. Joseph at the ends of Rosaries during the month of October
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