The Feast Of St. Joseph — How To Celebrate St. Joseph's Day

You're probably familiar with St. Patrick's Day, but there's another saint's day in March that's celebrated with food and drink: the Feast of St. Joseph, or La Festa di San Giuseppe, which is celebrated on March 19.

The holiday's roots date back to the Middle Ages, when Sicily underwent a major drought that threatened a famine. The locals prayed to their patron saint to bring them relief in the form of rain. In exchange, they promised to honor St. Joseph (the husband of the Virgin Mary) with a proper banquet. Sure enough, he answered their prayers. In return, they feasted on local foods like fava beans, which thrived after the rain, as well as many sweets. Since the feast occurs in the middle of Lent, it is a meatless celebration.

According to cookbook author and chef Lidia Bastianich, on St. Joseph's Day, Italian tables are filled with fig dishes, including fig cookies. (St. Joseph also happens to be the patron saint of pastry chefs.) Zeppole or Sfinge—dough fritters covered in sugar—are also traditionally eaten on this day. Depending on where they are consumed, they can be simple fried doughnut holes, custard- or jelly-filled, or the equivalent of cream puffs made from choux pastry, like a French profiterole.

In cities with large Italian-American communities—especially Sicilian populations such as those in Utica, New York, and New Orleans, which saw a flood of immigrants in the 19th century—the Feast of St. Joseph is celebrated with parades, processions, and parties.

If you're hosting your own feast in honor of St. Joseph, we've assembled the perfect meatless menu for the food-filled springtime Italian holiday.

Fig Cookies

Dawn Casale and David Crofton, owners of One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn, New York, share their recipe for these nut, chocolate, and fig-filled colorful cookies.

Get the Fig Cookies recipe.

Ian Bagwell