One of the most important holidays for many Italian American and Italian Catholics is the Feast of St. Joseph or La Festa di San Giuseppe. St. Joseph, a carpenter, and the foster father of Jesus, is the patron saint of carpenters, orphans and the needy and the homeless, among others. The day has always been celebrated on March 19, but in 2008 it was during Holy Week, and the Vatican changed the day of the Feast of St. Joseph to March 15.

The holiday is especially prevalent in Sicily, where St. Joseph is the Patron Saint of the island. During the Middle Ages, a great drought almost caused a famine, but prayers to St. Joseph brought rain. In gratitude, a feast was held in the piazza for all the townspeople to share. Over the years, the symbolism of the feast was transformed to the altar of churches and then to altars or tables in homes, with food prepared to feed the needy.