Everyone knows that with March comes green decorations, shamrocks, and lots and lots of beer. St. Patrick's Day, often considered an Irish drinking holiday, calls for a reason to celebrate in New England. Especially with its high Irish population. However, amidst the parades, the festivities, and, of course, the bar hopping, we seem to forget another important holiday here in Rhode Island. St. Joseph's Day, celebrated on March 19th, gives us a chance to sober up, and enjoy some traditional Italian, more specifically Sicilian, foods.

If you're like me, and most of you probably are, you're a Sicilian-Rhody. And if you're not, I guarantee you know someone who is. With its huge Italian population, Rhode Island is the nation's second most Italian state (runner-up to a very close Connecticut). St. Joseph's Day isn't as commercialized as St. Patty's, so many people don't even know what this holiday is for. Most Rhode Islanders will wish you a happy St. Joseph's, but only because it's an excuse to indulge in a zeppole or two.or three. But beyond the donut-like Italian pastry, St. Joseph's Day is just that holiday two days after St. Patrick's Day.

So, many Rhode Island Italians celebrate within their homes with lots of food, family and friends, because that is what St. Joseph's is really about.

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St. Joseph's Day is the day of the carpenter of Nazareth, St. Joseph, who is beloved by generations of Italians and Italian-Americans. Relatively little is known about the life of St. Joseph, except for what is written in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The genealogy of both Gospels places him in the line of David. Though St. Joseph was descended from royalty, it was not a title to rank or riches. Everything known about Joseph suggests he was poor.

The tradition of St. Joseph's Day began when there was a severe drought in Sicily in the middle ages. The island of Sicily greatly depends on rain because most of the year is dry, and rain falls for only about three months. Sicily was, and is, very agricultural specializing in lemons, grapes, wheat, olives and an array of fruits. The people of Sicily were losing hope, and in desperation they asked St. Joseph, their patron, to help. They promised him that if rain came, they would prepare a large feast in his honor. The tradition says these prayers were answered with rainy weather. In gratitude, huge banquet tables were set up in public, and the poor people of Sicily were invited to come and eat as much as they wanted.

The families of farmers and fisherman built altars in their homes to share their good fortune with others in need. St. Joseph's Day altars began as a custom and then brought to the states by Sicilian immigrants. The tradition of building the altar to St. Joseph dates back to the drought, and it served as a gift of thanks for St. Joseph. The tradition grew to a more public event on St. Joseph's Feast Day on March 19. Today, special foods, linens, flowers, and statuary adorn the St. Joseph's Altar, which is built with three steps representing the Holy Trinity.

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Perhaps the most well known of these special foods in Rhode Island is the zeppole. For those who aren't familiar with Italian grammar, "zeppole" is one and "zeppoli" is many.

Also called "St. Joseph Day cakes," zeppoli are a huge part of the St. Joseph Day celebration here in Rhode Island. Zeppoli are Italian bread dough that are either fried or baked. The filling is usually a custard, but some bakeries use cannoli filling. Some older recipes, straight from our Italian grandmothers' cookbooks, call for the cakes to be filled with ricotta cheese, pureed chickpeas, oil of cinnamon or grape jelly. They look similar to a donut, but are a lot more satisfying. However, despite their size everyone eats at least two or three, or even four. The sweet and delicate pastry, flavored with a hint of cream and one or two bits of candied cherry, is so tasty they become quite addictive.

So, come March 19, where can you get some of these delicious pastries? Well, almost any bakery in the state will carry them. But according to many Rhode Islanders, for the best Italian ANYTHING in Rhode Island, the place to go is Federal Hill. If you've never been to Federal Hill, St. Joseph's Day is the perfect excuse. Italians have settled this part of Providence and created the city's own "Little Italy."

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Federal Hill has become a new home for thousands of Italians pouring into America. Federal Hill is the neighborhood surrounding the east end of Atwells Avenue in Providence. The neighborhood was first settled in the late 19th century and the name Federal Hill came from the old Federal style white houses built here for the Civil War militia. The first Italians to settle in Federal Hill came from the mountainous villages of Southern Italy. With them they also brought their customs, traditions, and of course, their recipes.

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The current, refined version of zeppole became a tradition quite late, perhaps towards the end of the 19th century. Some of the very old recipes for the zeppole are instead made from a flour-and-water dough that's fried, and dusted with sugar and powdered cinnamon or dipped in honey. It's known that this traditional version was quite ancient. It's also known that on March 19th these zeppoli were made by the ton. They have been made in places like pastry shops and frying stalls, but also as well as the home. The pastries were offered to guests and whoever else happened to come by for any reason, whatsoever. It is a holiday to celebrate deliverance from famine, so in typical Italian tradition, lots of food is served and shared.

Rhode Island has a great Italian heritage, and like any other culture here in the states, its traditions should be celebrated. If you are of Italian-descent, compare your family's rituals and recipes with one another. If you are not Italian by birth or origin, come in, stay awhile, and celebrate this memorable, festive, and delicious occasion with us here in Rhode Island.

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