Traditionally, St. Joseph’s Day was the only day of the year other than Fat Tuesday on which the Mardi Gras Indians would don their suits and masks. Nowadays of course, you can often catch many Mardi Gras Indian tribe members in suits year-round, including the very next day on “Super Sunday”, but St. Joseph’s is still marked by a special celebration, with Indians coming out at sundown to walk the streets of downtown or meet at the corner of 2nd and Dryades streets.
Another local St. Joseph’s Day tradition is the construction of ornate, elaborate St. Joseph altars of food, flowers, photos, candles and more. The tradition began with 19th-Century Sicilian immigrants to New Orleans, who would create the altars to thank St. Joseph for saving Sicily from famine.
All photos were taken by Kim Welsh.
