My friend Mary Helen mentioned that tomorrow, March 19, is St. Joseph's Day, when the bakeries in the North End (Boston) feature cream-filled pastries.
A nice change of emphasis from the American tradition of a St. Patrick's Day boiled dinner.
I don't know where I've been, but I never heard of this tradition until today.
A little research turns up the story of Sicily's being saved from drought and famine during the Middle Ages through the intercession of St. Joseph. Bob points out that the luxury of cream-filled pastries makes a nice counterpoint to the travails of famine.
Where green was the color of the day on March 17, those celebrating St. Joseph wear red, and it's traditional to honor fathers, even though, strictly speaking, St. Joseph was more of a stepfather than a dad.
At any rate, when it comes to a feast, I prefer the Italian influence, despite my last name.
Maybe I'll wander over to the North End for a cannoli tomorrow.
But even as I indulge, as so many of us in America do, there is still hunger and famine throughout the world, much of it the result of armed conflict.
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