Lentorama 2021: Take Your Holiday to Go

Day 21: St. Joseph's Day

The feast day of humanity's best-known cuckold (Wikipedia calls him the "legal father" of Jesus), this typically falls on March 19. As this date is always during Lent, there are rules about what day it moves to when it falls on certain days within Lent. For example, if March 19 is a Sunday in Lent but not Palm Sunday, the feast is observed on March 20. Unless that's a feast day for another saint, then this day moves somewhere else. And since 2008, if March 19 falls during Holy Week, the feast moves to the closest day before March 19 that isn't in Holy Week (this is typically the Saturday before Holy Week starts). But if you use a particular missal, the feast actually moves later than March 19.

And none of this applies if you're an Orthodox Christian, as you celebrate this feast after Christmas.

The feast seems most associated with Italy, and Sicily in particular. Legend holds that Joseph interceded to end a drought and famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages, and so the locals honored him by creating special altars to him on which food was placed that would later go to feed the poor. Fava beans play a significant role in the dishes made for the feast, as that was the crop that ended the famine.

In some countries, this day also doubles as Father's Day.

One thing to note is that many Italian-American communities hold a big celebration of St. Joseph's Day, similar to what the Irish-American community does with St. Patrick's Day. Seems to me like this might be an ideal substitution for Columbus Day, given that Columbia Day hasn't taken off.