The Sicilian tradition recalls a drought in the late 1800s that left people starving. They prayed for the intercession of St. Joseph. After the rains came, to show their gratitude to him, they prepared a table with a special assortment of foods they had harvested. The food then was distributed to the less fortunate.

That tradition, which comprises innumerable of hours of labor for each altar as well as the combined cost of all the varieties of food prepared, lives on among New Orleans Catholics.