But today is St Joseph Day, a day of altars in New Orleans. The following is from a Times Picayune article by Judy Walker:
...'But first: Why St. Joseph altars? And why are there so many here?
The father of Jesus is the patron saint of the island of Sicily. It's said during the famines of the Middle Ages, residents prayed to St. Joseph to deliver them, and the altars are built in thanks on his feast day, March 19.
In the late 19th century, New Orleans was a major port of immigration for Italians from Sicily. Many settled in the French Quarter, nicknamed "Little Palermo" at the time.
Devout Catholics promise altars for answered prayers and favors granted, such as healing or safe delivery.
A few other areas of the country celebrate St. Joseph as well. Last year, a Buffalo, N.Y., chef was in New Orleans upon publication of her book about her family's St. Joseph Feast, served as a meal.
The food on an altar is supposed to be donated, or "begged." Fortunate ones in the community are to share their blessings. Countless people work on the altars: Altar societies, church members, Catholic and non-Catholic spend untold hours, starting at the beginning of the year. Some visitors try to make a "pilgrimage" to a number of altars on the feast day.
The custom has blended into other parts of New Orleans culture as well. In this city, with its large population claiming Irish and Italian heritage, traditional St. Patrick's Day parades often blend and overlap with St. Joseph Day events. Kerri McCaffety records an African-American Spiritualist church altar in her 2003 book, "St. Joseph Altars," which she says started in the 1930s. And, Mardi Gras Indians have become more involved in celebrating St. Joseph's feast day as well. The famous New Orleans tribes parade for the last time of the season on St. Joseph's Day, or Chief's Day, and references to this culture are being added to altars.
A Mardi Gras Indian flag boy and drummer will talk about their traditions when the priest blesses the altar on March 19 at Rouse's Supermarket on Baronne Street.
Like all traditions, altars have changed and will continue to adapt and change through the years. Perhaps the biggest change is due to the changing demographics in New Orleans. Fewer people in the city are 100 percent Sicilian, so the traditions are being lost, said Pepper Caruso, director of the American Italian Cultural Center and Museum, where an altar is on display all year.
The custom "has gone more towards larger communal efforts because it's so difficult on one family to put on an altar," she said. "We're seeing fewer and fewer of the smaller home altars and more of the larger communal efforts."
Caruso was on the very first committee teaching Xavier freshman about the altars.
"It was really interesting, teaching my Sicilian grandmother's seed cakes to these young African-American women -- so cross-cultural," Caruso said. "One of my great joys was to see the altar draped in kente cloth. It's a beautiful marriage of cultures. I thought, 'Oh! I love New Orleans!' "'
