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Rouses St. Joseph Day Altar, Houma

St. Joseph’s Day: Making the Altar by Tina —Rouses Bakery Manager, Houma + photos by Matthew Noel I was born in the small town of Chiusa each year.  Then, as a family, we would visit all of the other altars in Thibodaux.

I made the “sawdust” for the altar, which I would later use in a Pasta Milanese for my family. We also baked bread in traditional, symbolic shapes, like ladders, hammers, nail, crosses, palms, wreaths, grapes and twists. On St. Joseph’s Day, the Bishop came to the store to bless our altar. We also handed out fava beans to shoppers.  At the end of the day, the nuns came to pick up the food to distribute to the needy, which is custom.

Scalfani, which is near Palermo, Italy. When I was eleven years old my family and I immigrated to the United States to be near my father’s sister, Aunt Maria, who lived in Thibodaux, Louisiana. From Italy we brought with us many traditions, including honoring Saint Joseph. My father, brothers, sister, and I would help my mother prepare our altar from scratch

Last year, I was really excited to be a part of the first Saint Joseph’s Altar at the Rouses Market inHouma.  It took weeks of planning, and days to prepare the food.  At that time, my mother had just passed away, and I looked at this as an opportunity to honor her.  I used some of her things on our Rouses’ altar: a Saint Joseph picture that came from Sicily, some of her china, and a flag.

FAMINE, FEAST & FAVA BEANS In the Middle Ages when Sicily was suffering from a severe drought, the faithful prayed fervently to St. Joseph, the patron saint of the family, to end their suffering. When the rains finally came, a bumper crop of fava beans grew, saving the people from starvation. In thanks, Italians promised to honor and remember this great favor with altars adorned with food and erected each year in St. Joseph’s honor. —Poppy Tooker

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MY ROUSES EVERYDAY MARCH | APRIL 2014