St Joseph’s Day: Cream buns and sawdust
Today, Monday 19 March, is St Joseph’s Day when we pause to remember the Virgin Mary’s husband Joseph.
St Joseph was the father figure in Holy Family home where he provided for Mary and Jesus by working as a carpenter.
He is often a forgotten figure maybe because the Bible does not record what happened to him.
But he is remembered in Malta where today is a holiday.
And it’s Father’s Day in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
In Naples the special St Joseph’s Day treat is a cream doughnut.
Soup in Sicily is meatless Minestrone because it is Lent but bread crumbs are sprinkled on top to represent the sawdust from Joseph’s workshop.