Happy St. Joseph's Day! Given the proximity to St. Patrick's Day, poor St. Joseph's honorary day is largely overlooked. The only thing I know about St. Patrick's Day is that people drink lots of beer. And the only things I know about St. Joseph's Day are that Italians celebrate it and that you get to eat zeppole. A zeppola (zeppole is the plural form) is like a cream puff or donut, and they put custard on top or inside. They're delicious and it's easy to eat a bunch since you only get them once a year. When I lived in North Carolina, I mentioned St. Joseph's Day to my friends. I told them it was on March 19 and people at home wore red on that day. They didn't believe me. Today I could have just found evidence on the internet, but back then I had to resort to asking the one other girl in our class who was part Italian to back me up. She hadn't heard of it either.
I don't know much about the holiday, so I looked a few things up. It turns out, not surprisingly, that many Italians have a St. Joseph's Day feast. Since Joseph was Jesus' earthly father, it seems appropriate that a day devoted to him would be a big deal. As I thought about this, I wondered why Catholics have no holidays (that I can recall) that involve fasting. I remember that on Good Friday you should fast during the time that Jesus was being crucified. But that's only a span of about 3 hours. Then again, that's a long time without eating for most Italians.
