Per la traduzione in italiano cliccare la bandiera italiana in alto a destra

After Hurricane Katrina many people from New Orleans re-evaluated what really matters in life. While I enjoyed my material possessions – my faith, family and traditions\heritage are what I value most. Mardi Gras, jazz music, and the regions great food would all return but lesser known New Orleans traditions may be washed away by the storm. Once vibrant traditions like the Saint Joseph Altars and Mardi Gras Indians might both become historical pre-Katrina events, a new generation would need to step up to carry on.

You could say it was a calling when I moved the small Saint Joseph Altar from my home into a much bigger public altar at my jewelry store. In New Orleans it wasn’t enough anymore to celebrate a tradition with just close family and friends especially a Saint Joseph Altar that should be a community celebration.

Growing-up I thought everyone had a little Italian in them… in New Orleans that is close to the truth, by 1910 nearly eighty-percent of the people living in the French Quarter were from Italy (most Sicilian). Today there are over 200,000 people in the region of Italian descent. The Saint Joseph Altars I visited (as a little girl) were full of symbolic religious items (a bit formal and serious)… I remember being told not to touch anything on the beautiful altar and especially not to eat anything.

My father a jazz musician played for Louie Prima for several years, his father (my grandfather) came to New Orleans from Contessa Entellina, Sicily… of course our home was filled of music and pasta every Sundays. If I was going to do an Altar it was going present to the community best of my Italian heritage (food, music, warmth) and be in the true spirit of Saint Joseph be open to everyone.

I am so pleased the way the altar has grown each year the food, singing, and the diversity of the people that attend make for a wonderful community celebration. A unique tradition that withstood the destructive forces of Hurricane Katrina; a tradition with a renewed spirit that lives in the hearts of a community called New Orleans.

The annual Saint Joseph Altar at Anne Dale’s jewelry store continues a Catholic Italian New Orleans tradition while honoring our family’s ancestry of Ferrara, Catanese, Maestri and Labadini names.

Anne Ferrara Dale