International House, New Orleans’ premier boutique hotel, celebrates its 23rd annual St. Joseph’s Day ritual by offering locals and visitors alike an authentic and lively taste of joyful culture in this most spirited city. On Saturday, March 19 from 4 - 7 PM, the hotel will celebrate the Feast of San Giuseppe with Sicilian flair and multi-cultural expression unique to this city. Just outside the hotel’s monumental entrance, a sidewalk café and accordion player magically materializes, serving Italian aperitifs, cocktails like Saint Rosalie, and the BELLUCCI, as well as Sicilian pizza (Sfincione) compliments of Emeril’s, traditional cookies from famed Angelo Brocato and breads from Angelo’s Bakery.
Bringing the ritual even more vividly to life, the Guardians of the Flame Mardi Gras Indians presented by Cherice Harrison-Nelson (daughter of the tribe’s founder) will parade, and Alana "Mama Pretty" Harris will speak on behalf of the Creole Belle & Golddigger Baby Dolls about " The Passing of the Flame, 3 Generations of Baby Dolls."
Oh, and there is one more thing. The Limone di Sorrento or Sorrento lemon is our secret ingredient in the world’s best limoncello. We make it each year from lemons we grow in Bywater. “When sipped just right," says internationally recognized bartender Alan Walter, "it might transport you from our little citrus grove on the banks of the Mississippi to the volcanic hillsides overlooking the Bay of Naples.” This video shows the magic.
Just as New Orleans’ Sicilian population practices in private homes and neighborhood churches, International House honors St. Joseph with an elaborate altar created by Britney Penouilh and other gifted artisan-makers from this city’s culinary and cultural communities.
Traditional in shape, the three-tiered altar honors the Holy Trinity. A statue of St. Joseph holding the infant Jesus stands at the top tier with delicate lilies below. Sawdust from the carpentry of the exhibit is bottled and placed on the altar, with various tools and symbols entirely made of bread. They intone the edible hagiography of Joseph and Sicily: hammers, nails, citrus, fennel, anise, sesame, figs, crosses, a crown of thorns, hearts, and fava beans. Other elements remind us of the withered vines and barren fields that daunted the Sicilian landscape before its people pleaded with St. Joseph for relief.
Just as New Orleans’ Sicilian population practices in private homes and neighborhood churches, International House honors St. Joseph with an elaborate altar created by gifted artisan-makers from this city’s culinary and cultural communities.
Traditional in shape, the three-tiered altar honors the Holy Trinity. A statue of St. Joseph holding the infant Jesus stands at the top tier with delicate lilies below. Sawdust from the carpentry of the exhibit is bottled and placed on the altar, with various tools and symbols entirely made of bread.
They intone the edible hagiography of Joseph and Sicily: hammers, nails, citrus, fennel, anise, sesame, figs, crosses, a crown of thorns, hearts, and fava beans. Other elements remind us of the withered vines and barren fields that daunted the Sicilian landscape before its people pleaded with St. Joseph for relief.
New Orleanians, like their Sicilian counterparts struggling against disasters natural and man-made, are by necessity well-versed in the art of supplication, so much so that locals believe we’ve had Joseph’s ear in the most threatening of times. When human efforts inevitably fall short, folks turn to Joseph – the Patron Saint of Protection - to make life better.
Saint Joseph’s miraculous helping hand on behalf of Sicily in times of drought and famine has kept him the preeminent figure of paternal protection. And in New Orleans, his appeal transcends Christianity, inspiring a rich ecclesiastical roster of other spiritual communities, such as Mardi Gras Indians who march on his day every year.
Patience, persistence, courage, and hard work are themes directly associated with Joseph. But a father’s love is what places this feast day front and center around the world. Though speechless in the gospels, Joseph portrays the decidedly masculine image of a family man who saves and shields. To wit, catholic countries including Spain, Portugal, and Italy celebrate this feast day as Father’s Day.
The soul of New Orleans is shaped by its rituals - rituals inherited from the earliest immigrants who settled this place, and who still flavor this city today. Central to this ritual is altar making, a labor of love with age-old reverence for the patron saint of protection. And though we try, no one tells the story of St. Joseph’s Day better than the altar-makers, master bakers, and other New Orleanians who have kept these traditions alive. Here, it’s a colorfully sacred and profane mix, at once a devout homage to St. Joseph and also a festive feast day alive with joyful moments that make this city like no other place.