Saint Joseph

His day of the week is Sunday or Wednesday. His emblem is a pitcher and loaf of bread or a lily. His colors are yellow, green and brown. When Working with Saint Joseph the Worker, he must always be pictured holding the infant Jesus. 

In dedication to Saint Joseph, it is traditional to give alms to the poor, raise money for charities, give food to the underprivileged, or to share blessings with those in need. Building an Altar on his feast day is meant to be an act of devotion to Saint Joseph which is also beneficial for the community, not simply for personal gain. 

Very similar to Saint Lazarus, there are two different Saint Josephs, or avatars of Saint Joseph, who are combined in folk magic. After all, he is the Patron Saint of the Universalist Church, so I don't think he minds! 

Saint Joseph is the Patron Saint of the unemployed, fathers, step-fathers, families, expectant mothers, immigrants, travelers, home sellers and buyers, craftsman, engineers, working people, farmers, fisherman, social justice, Belgium, Canada, carpenters, confectioners, soldiers and the family of soldiers, Peru, pioneers, and the Universal Church. 

He is traditionally appealed to for assistance with finding employment, gaining pay raises and keeping steady work flowing. He is especially helpful and sympathetic when work is needed in order to care for and feed a family. He also may be petitioned for protection, a happy death, to sell a home, to end famine, in cases of doubt and hesitation, for prosperity, for assistance with marriage, for fertility and abundance,  to assist with marital problems or healing from infidelity. 

In the Spiritualist churches, Saint Joseph stands beside Black Hawk and Moses, the Patron Saints of social justice. 

Saint Joseph, in his guise as the step-father of Jesus, was a carpenter who taught Jesus the trade and always ensured his family was well housed. Although he generally accepted as a carpenter, James Martin writes that “tekton”, the Greek word given for Saint Joseph's profession, is better translated as "day laborer”. This would make him less of a skilled tradesman and more of a general handyman. The overall concept remains the same, this is a hardworking man who provided for his family and knew how to take care of practical, everyday needs!

In Southern Italy and Sicily, he is associated with the back-breaking labor of farmers who guard the fertility of the land, just as Saint Joseph guarded Mary's fertility by caring for her during her pregnancy and childbirth. 

Saint Joseph is particularly popular among Sicilian-Americans. 

In New Orleans, where Sicilian fishermen settled, he has become the unofficial Patron Saint of the city. Saint Joseph is credited with saving the nation of Sicily from famine through manifesting a bountiful crop of Fava Beans and a good fish catch at a time when famine threatened. 

The custom of preparing a meal of Fava Beans on Saint Joseph's day has held strong into modern times. It is also traditional to set out a dish of the uncooked beans, called Saint Joseph Beans, for visitors to take home as lucky charms. In addition, the dried fava beans are offered on his Feast Day Altar, and sometimes it is these beans which are carried home with an individual afterward. Another Saint Joseph folk tradition is to fashion lemons into protective charms to ward off the evil eye. These are pierced with nails and hung by the door after having been offered to Saint Joseph. Due to the melding of traditions in New Orleans, the custom of wishing on Saint Joseph Beans long ago transferred into the African American community and became a staple practice of hoodoo & rootwork. Seven of the beans, locally known as "Mojo Beans" or "African Wishing Beans," are carried in the pocket for seven days and then thrown into running water over the left shoulder while making a wish. 

Saint Joseph was the devoted husband to Mary. He was the step-father or earthly father to Jesus, which was not an easy job and not one he had anticipated. His marriage with Mary was never consummated, which is why he carries the Lily as a sign for purity and virginity. The difficulties that Saint Joseph faced caring for a wife pregnant by otherworldly forces and then caring for a son who was not his own, are little spoken of but have forged him into a strong and compassionate intercessor. 

The tradition of burying a Saint Joseph statue to assist with selling a home actually began hundreds of years ago in Europe. Nuns in those times prayed to Saint Joseph when they needed more land for convents. At that time they buried their Saint Joseph metals in the ground. The practice has evolved to include burying a statue of Saint Joseph upside down. Alternately, many turn or hang a photo of the Saint upside down. The philosophy behind this entails making the Saint uncomfortable until your wish is fulfilled, at which time he will be rewarded with promised offerings. 

I encourage a more respectful relationship with Saint Joseph which includes honor and trust. 

Pictured is an Altar from Salemi, Sicily, This is where some of the most elaborate Saint Joseph Altars in the world can be found. For an entire month the men and women of Salemi work 5 days a week building Saint Joseph Altars leading up to the Feast Day. The very act of building the Altar is considered an act of devotion in and of itself.

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                                         ~Blessings~