Today was our annual Saint Joseph’s ritual breadmaking workshop. This year, Experience Sicily partnered with National Organization of Italian American Women. This bread making practice is a form of prayer to San Giuseppe. The loaves, which are made in the shape of flowers, doves, fava beans, and carpentry tools, to name a few, are meant…
Tag: ritual bread
Giving Thanks To The Father
Thank you to those who joined me last evening for our online Experience Sicily Saint Joseph’s Day celebration! Viva San Giuseppe! Happy Saint Joseph’s Day! Buona festa del papà! Pictured is my altar for this powerful patron of fathers, carpenters, the home, and those who toil for their work. The three tiers represent Jesus, Mary,…
The Staff, Wreath, And Palm: Ritual Bread For Saint Joseph’s Day
Join me to recognize St. Joseph’s Day on Thursday, March 18 at 8PM Eastern. Register at https://experiencesicily.com/st-josephs-day-online/ You’ll learn more about the feast. Such as, on traditional St. Joseph’s Day altars or le tavolate di San Giuseppe, you will see these three types of loaves pictured. On the left is the staff (vastuni), which represents…
Ritual Bread For Saint Joseph
Food historians believe grains were introduced to Sicily in approximately 1000 BCE by the Phoenicians. By 150 BCE, during the Roman era, grain became the base of island’s cuisine. By 1000 CE, during the Arab era, the majority of Sicily’s landscape was dedicated to grain agriculture, and that remains true today. Once you learn the…
Saint Joseph In Palermo
Viva San Giuseppe! Pictured is St. Joseph with a young Jesus in the Chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Teatini in Palermo, where there is a series of art dedicated to this very important saint. Today is St. Joseph’s Day, March 19. Also, it is fittingly Father’s Day in Italy. Joseph was the surrogato father of…
Bread Making For Saint Joseph’s Day In New York City
Today we created bread loaves for Saint Joseph to express our gratitude and ask for support for the year ahead. It’s amazing how powerful this medicine can be. Viva San Giuseppe! Thank you Cacio e Vino for hosting our messy Experience Sicily day! See you next Sunday for our prix-fixe lunch feast! Join us in…
Flowers Loaves Made For Saint Joseph
Ritual bread loaves made for St. Joseph (San Giuseppe) that are in the shape of flowers signify elevated spirituality and detachment from earthly possessions. These pictured were made by women in Salemi, Sicily, where San Giuseppe is strongly venerated. Join Experience Sicily this Sunday in New York at City Cacio e Vino to make bread…
Citrus Bread Loaves Represent Life
Bread loaves for St. Joseph made in the form of a peacock symbolize resurrection and the beauty of creation. Those formed as citrus fruits represent the circle of life. Join me on Sunday, March 8 in New York City at Cacio e Vino restaurant to make your ritual bread loaves for Saint Joseph. Reserve your…
Sicily’s Altars For Saint Joseph
Because San Giuseppe, or St. Joseph, is the patron saint of carpenters, when the women of Salemi in Trapani province, Sicily are creating their loaves for the feast on March 19, they make bread in the shape of tools, like those pictured here: scissors, screws, and nails. On their altars, you’ll also see hammers, saws,…
An Act Of Prayer For Saint Joseph
Probably the most distinct ritual of Saint Joseph’s Day, which is celebrated annually on March 19, revolves around the celebration of bread, which in Sicily and southern Italy is sacred because wheat, its principle ingredient, is the most important crop of the region. The preparation of altars, or tables, known as le tavolate di San…