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March, 2014
New Orleans St. Joseph Altars: A Feast For All
New Orleans is known for its French heritage,
but immigrants from dozens of countries have brought
with them their own culinary and cultural traditions.
One group that had a tremendous impact on the makeup of the city was the Sicilians. Though many Italians
settled across the United States in the 19th century,
New Orleans was the prime destination for Sicilians.
In fact, by the late 1800s, the French Quarter was
almost 80% Sicilian.
One of the traditions the Sicilians carried with
them was that of constructing elaborate altars for the
Feast of St. Joseph, celebrated on March 19th. While
there are several legends detailing the origin of the
altars in Sicily, the most common tells of the people
praying to St. Joseph to help them in the midst of a
terrible famine. The famine ended because of a bounty
of fava beans, which supplied an unexpected source of
food. The people created an altar of thanks and began
a yearly tradition honoring the saint. The presence of
the fava bean in the story explains why everyone who
visits an altar takes away a “lucky” bean or fava bean.
Altars are made in gratitude to St Joseph for
answering a prayer, or to ask for a favor including
intervention during one’s own crisis or on behalf of
another. Those who cannot give their own altar are
able to keep their promises to St Joseph by working on
altars in their community or church.
Some altars are created out of a custom
called questua, which means “ searching” or
“seeking.” Instead of buying the ingredients and
materials for the altar, one begs for them, further
humbling oneself in an act of poverty. This recalls the
impoverishment of the starving Sicilians who initially
asked for St Joseph’s help. It also reminds the person on
the questua of the purpose of the altar: to feed the hungry.
Altars are erected in both churches and private
homes and are laden with a bounty of foods associated
with St. Joseph. Bread is shaped like crosses, Joseph’s
staff, and his carpenter’s tools including saws, hammers
and ladders. St Joseph’s bread is believed to have special
powers. Throwing a morsel into a storm is believed to
have the power to calm the winds. A piece kept in the
house is supposed to insure that the family will never be
without food. A breadcrumb topping called mudrica, is
sprinkled on pasta Milanese, representing the sawdust of
the carpenter.
Other symbolic foods include cakes shaped like
lambs, covered in coconut, which represent the sacrifice of
Christ; pastries formed like the pierced heart of the Mater
Dolorosa; pignolatti resembling the pine cones Jesus is
said to have played with as a child. Whole fish symbolize
the Miracle of Multiplication; wine recalls the feast at
Cana. Stealing a lemon from the altar ensures one will
meet the person you are destined to marry before the next
St Joseph’s Day. Each visitor takes away a dry roasted
fava bean, for good luck. This intersection of luck,
generosity and a reminder of the needs of other all
embody the meaning of this day.
A list of St. Joseph Altars in the area usually
appears in The Times Picayune and the Clarion Herald
at the beginning of March.
From http://www.gonola.com/2012/03/09/new-orleans-st-josephs-altars-a-feast-for-all.html, by Elizabeth Pearce, 3/9/12