St. Joseph’s Day
In Valencia, Spain, wild figures of colourful animals and people made of paper or wood decorate the streets and squares. There are fireworks, parades, and street dances. Then, around midnight, the city lights up with a fiery blaze as all these figures are burned. It’s March 19, St. Joseph’s Day in Spain!
Saint Joseph was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Roman Catholics honour Joseph as a saint. Most people in Spain are Roman Catholic, so the day is a big celebration in that country. Roman Catholics in other countries also celebrate St. Joseph’s Day.
St. Joseph’s day always falls in Lent, so meals on his day are always associated with meatless dishes. In Italy a tradition is to serve food that contains bread crumbs as these represent saw dust since St. Joseph was a carpenter.
Since Joseph is not mentioned in any accounts of Jesus’ public life, his crucifixion, or resurrection, it is thought that Joseph died before Jesus started preaching.
St. Joseph is the patron saint of the Catholic Church, unborn children, fathers, immigrants, workers, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Despite knowing so little about Joseph, he still has two feast days in the Western church. In his capacity as the patron saint of Workers, 1st May was established as the Feast of “St. Joseph the Worker” in 1955. This is seen as an attempt to counteract the social and non religious growth of Labour Day as a worldwide holiday.
Picture Credit : Google