My visit to the altar on St. Joseph’s Day was interesting and attention-grabbing. I had never been a part of such celebration or event and the way that everything was set up was very creative. I was expecting more of an altar resemblance, but instead it was a more like a stage of three tiers that contained many food items, flowers, and candles in honor of St. Joseph. Mostly there was the fava bean, or lucky bean, and the blessed bread that were in the shape of a crab and a fish. There was also a guest sign in booklet that reminded me of those that were at weddings and funerals. The enactment of the roles of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, sitting at a table and eating from the altar by my classmates was also a learning experience that I enjoyed. The altar also had a sort of prayer request table, and there was also a collection held for the Saint Joseph Day altar. The altar represented and symbolized a “gumbo”, because of the mixture of items that the altar contained on its three tiers. In comparison to the St. Joseph’s Day Altar, gumbo, a soup that originated here in southern Louisiana, is a mixture of food items such as meat, shellfish, and seasoned vegetables. The altar incorporated candles, flowers, many Italian cookies such as the cuccidatti bread with figs which are made in a variety of shapes and symbols such as a heart, fish, cross, and dove, fava beans, and the blessed bread; they represent a blend similar to the ingredients found in gumbo.
When I think of gumbo, a New Orleans dish, I think of a packed soup with meat, shellfish, ocra, and certain seasonings all in one pot. The idea is that it is a mixture of different things just like the St. Joseph’s Day altar. The variety of foods, cookies, candles, and religious significance is all put together in one altar. All the different shapes, types of cookies, figs, different ingredients all were represented on the altar. Just like the finishing taste of gumbo, excellent, the altar was put together well and was absolutely beautiful. St. Joseph’s Altar day was truly a treat. All the things that we learned about the day such as the history, tradition, religious background, and the certain foods that are made for the day were all finally visualized for ourselves. The altar was a beautiful sight. It was really cool seeing our cuccidatas on the altar also. The three high tables with food and flowers were much expected, but it was still a new sight to see. I saw all the fava beans that represent the horrible famine. The blessed bread were really unique and I had never seen bread designed so cool as fish. Along with the food, there was a portion for collection for the actual altar. It was an honor to be a part of this rich tradition.
The St. Joseph’s Day altar was very interesting to me. It was a new experience to me, because I never saw a St. Joseph’s Day altar before. I liked how there were things to see everywhere you turned. Right when you went in, there is a sign-in book and a bucket of fava beans to your right. I wanted to take a bean, but did not know if I could. The St. Joseph’s Day altar was on your left. It was really big and held everyone’s cuccidatti. I am glad that I got to contribute to the St. Joseph’s Day altar. I saw my cuccidatti on it and felt kind of proud. I was pretty amazed with the huge crab made out of bread. When you walked farther into the room, there was a table that held many pictures. I think the pictures were of the deceased or just people that family or friends wanted St. Joseph to bless or look after. The only thing I was a bit disappointed about was the fact that we did not get to eat anything after we took it down. It was understandable though, since the food was sitting out over the weekend. Gumbo is a dish that contains many ingredients such as, seafood, chicken, pork, sausage, vegetables, and rice. Gumbo is a mixture of all of these things. In the same way, the St. Joseph’s Day altar was a mixture of different things. The altar had three tiers and they held candles, bread, cuccidatti, cookies, and flowers. However, the altar is more symbolic than gumbo. The bread on the altar was considered blessed bread and if there was a storm, throwing a piece of bread outside would abate the storm. The palms that decorated the altar represented the palms that were thrown at Jesus’s feet as he entered Jerusalem.
My visit to the St. Joseph’s altar was very interesting. I was not expecting to see all of that food in one place. The different foods were laid out in an extremely organized manner. I was astonished to see how everyone’s hard work in making the different foods had all come together to for this one beautiful masterpiece. The “tupa tupa” was very interesting also. Just seeing all of the different foods in one place and learning about all the different foods and what their meanings are really made me feel good about myself. It was a very well put together altar and I know that it definitely served its purpose in bringing back the tradition of building a St. Joseph’s Day altar. I believe that the St. Joseph’s Day altar represents “gumbo” because the altar was a large collaboration of all sorts of different foods. Gumbo, a New Orleans dish, is a type of soup that is filled with many different types of foods. These foods include chicken, shrimp, and different types of sausage, many different seasonings, any kind of rice, and many more ingredients. The St. Joseph’s Day altar represents a cup of gumbo because they both have many different types of foods in it all mixed together. Even though they are all mixed together to bring out one specific object, the fact that it takes so much time and precision to do it makes it all the more special.
My visit to St. Joseph’s alter was definitely a learning experience. I have never heard of a St. Joseph’s alter until it was mentioned in Freshman Seminar class. I saw all the effort the class put into the project and I was proud to be a part of it. I stepped into St. Josephs and I saw several people walking around the altar. Some were taking pictures, some were talking to their friends, bus most were reverently looking at the altar. Against a wall I saw what looked like shelves draped with a cloth printed with African patterns. On each shelf were fresh flowers, fresh fruit, and baked goods that students and volunteers made. On the top of the shelf were two candelabras and a large wooden statue of Joseph holding baby Jesus. The altar represented a “gumbo” because like the food, it was a mixture of many different things all in one place. This just like how gumbo is a mixture of seafood, vegetables, meats, and spices all stewed together in one pot. I noticed in front of the altar was a small table with white table cloth. There, people were writing down names of lost loved ones, issues, anything that they would want to be blessed by and watch over by St. Joseph. I stood against the back wall, surveying the room while I waited for Tupa Tupa to start. Looking around at the people staring reverently at the altar and nicely dressed people taking pictures in front of the alter for school news, I realized that I was a part of school history. An altar has not been built at the school in recent years, so making cookies and my cuccidata for it made me feel special. Tupa Tupa is a loose reenactment of the story of Jesus’ birth. Three people dressed as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph go around a neighborhood looking for lodging. They get turned away from every house except for the last house where they are fed a feast. For the Tupa Tupa at school, three people from the Freshman Seminar class were dressed in robes and walked around St. Joseph’s knocking on office doors and were turned away until they came to the front door again. They were seated next to the altar and had a feast of pasta.
My visit to the St. Joseph altar was cool. It was nice to see it fully develop for just simple works of art and decorated foods to a giant collage of decorations. The altar was such a wonderful sight to see. I really enjoyed myself while helpoing to create the altar. I helped make the cookies for the gift bags and I made my very own cucchidatia. My cucchidatia had a circle on it which is one of the symbols of St. Joseph's day. I also helped to decorate the alter. We put everyone's decorations of the cookie, and other symbols of the day onto the alter. It was such a beautiful sight to see. In the process we started up an old tradition that we should continue here at Xavier. All the freshman should make alters from now until the end of time to continue the tradition of thanking him for the past. St. Joseph alters resemble a gumbo because like gumbo it is made up of a mixture of many great things. A gumbo is a soup made with many ingredients such as rice, sausage crab, okra, and many seasonings. A St. Joseph's alter also has many different things such as paintings, symbols, many different kinds of food such as cucchidatia, cakes, and pies, and much much more. These two things gumbo and St.Joseph's alter are different but very much alike. The whole St. Joseph Day tradition is very spiritual and special. I would love to participate in this event again next year. People also come by and donate money for viewing the alter. I also this the tradition is about giving back to the community and they will give back to you.
Taylor Reuther I was pretty humbled when I saw the St. Joseph’s Day Alter for the first time. It was my first time ever seeing one or honestly hearing about the tradition. I was awestruck at how well it all came together really. There were so many different food items and holy items upon the table that the whole surrounding area just had a holy aura going on. Everyone that walked through was quiet and respectful towards the alter and that made me really happy to know that there are still people like that out there. The alter could be described as a gumbo due to the fact that there were so many different unrelated items upon the alter. There were cuccidatas, fig cookies, candles, statues, and pictures. Gumbo is a dish served in New Orleans in which many different food items are placed to create a luscious meal full of flavor. The alter parallels a gumbo because of the various items upon the alter, like the cookies, the bread, the huge statue of St. Joseph and Mary, lite candles, crosses and crucifixes, and pictures of the class. Classmates whom were taking part in Tupa Tupa, which was the knocking on doors, portrayed the roles of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This was pretty cool to see. This whole experience was one ill never forget, and I hope to take part in another alter making process sometime in my life.
My visit to the St. Joseph’s altar was inspiring. To see all the levels of creativity on display in that way was great. To be apart of something like that was humbling. I didn’t really know what to expect when I first started hearing about this altar stuff. I definitely wouldn’t have pictured it to come together the way it did. Everyone did a great job of working together as a team in honor of St. Joseph. I also enjoyed seeing my fellow peers reenact Mary and Joseph. The altar represents a gumbo because of variety. If you think of a gumbo, you think of carrots, steak, shrimp, okra, and all kinds of ingredients, including seasonings. A gumbo isn’t a gumbo without the unifying of all these different ingredients to make one healthy, good-tasting dish. The same applies to the altar. There were pictures, all kinds of different forms of artwork, food candles, and flowers. All of these things worked together to display one altar. All the little things and big things worked together to make this altar; just as ingredients to a gumbo make a meal.
My visit to the St. Joesph’s Day altar was a unique experience that I think was quite memorable. I admittedly enjoyed visiting more than I thought I would. It was great to see something that I had been researching all semester right in front of me. I was proud to see my chuchidata featured on the altar along with all my other classmates. Our hard work had paid off into an experience the whole campus could enjoy, faculty and students alike. It was good to see so many people enjoy not only the altar but the literature and other activities surrounding it. Many students seemed interested in the tupa-tupa reenactment since they had never seen it before and we unsure of what it represented. I was a little surprised at myself being able to explain its significance to my peers. I did not realize how much knowledge of the event I had acquired until I was asked about it in detail. The St. Joseph’s Day altar represents a gumbo in that it features various desserts, breads, snacks, art, and tributes all in one place. Gumbo is a dish that contains different meats, seasonings, vegetables, and rice. It is a unique dish because it has so many different foods in it and it various in flavor and style from cook to cook. The altar was similar it it’s variety and distinction from other St. Joseph's Day altars. It also can be viewed as a gumbo because it was the culmination and group effort of many different people to become such an amazing display. I am glad I was able to participate in such an eye opening event and I hope to be a part of it again next year. Hopefully it will be even bigger and better than this year.
My visit to the Saint Joseph Day Altar was interesting because I have never seen anything like that before. While singing in, I could see that people were really interested and wanted to take a lucky bean. I saw my classmates dress up as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. I learned what the fava bean truly stood for and represented. I knew then that the bean was the lucky bean that we read about in class. I saw my cuccidatti sitting on the altar and took pride in the fact that I made it. I saw fruits, flowers, and other baked items on the altar. I like many of the students took great interest in the tupa-tupa. I have never seen anything like it. The blessed bread was an important part of the altar because a lot more people knew about that part of Saint Joseph Day. Our hard work we put in to making the altar really paid off, and the class gave great background on this event. The altar represents a gumbo because like gumbo the altar was made up of many things. Gumbo is made with chicken, rice, vegetables, shrimp, crab, and other various things. The altar was also made up of many things. It had flowers, cookies, bread, and other things too. I believe that the altar plays a more important role that gumbo. Gumbo is just a soup, but the Saint Joseph Day Altar is much more than that. It is a symbol of faith the Saint Joseph while gumbo is just a part of Louisiana food culture. I really enjoyed every part in making the altar. I contributed to making the fig cookies. I helped set up the altar for Saint Joseph Day. Now that I know the true meaning behind it, I will continue to participate in the future.
Charity Crain When I went to go visit the altar on St. Joseph’s day, I got to see the reactions of other people who were not involved in creating the actual altar. Despite the fact that I did not actually make the items that were on display, I could still say I was a part of it because I was there during the setting up process. When I went to set up the altar, I already had an inside scoop on what to expect when I went to the altar. However, although we finished early, the altar was not completely ready. When I saw the altar finally done and with so many people inside showed that the work that I had put into helping set up the altar was truly worth it. Everything was set up nicely. I was very happy with everything, especially since it was my first time attending a St. Joseph’s day altar. To say that the altar represents a “gumbo” can be quite realistic. So many different items were blended in together to give the altar that special appeal. There was such a variety on display, from the sesame seed cookies to the pictures of important people in certain individual’s lives. It was a nice blend. The way these items were set up also complimented each other, just like the ingredients in gumbo. When done the right way, gumbo tastes amazing, but when in the wrong hands it can come out simply awful. When the St. Joseph’s Day altar was done, it was clearly done the right way because everything looked amazing.
My visit to the St. Josephs Day altar was different. I have never took part in anything like that before. It was informative and I learned many different things about St. Josephs Day. By me contributing to it and its beauty with my cuccidatte being placed on the altar, made it that much more influential to me. I signed the guest book and watched as three of my classmates took part in the feasting. I have never heard anything about a St. Josephs Day altar upon entering Freshman Seminar. The only thing I knew about St. Josephs Day was that the Indians would come out uptown. As many people know, gumbo is a traditional New Orleans dish. It is made of many different things and ingredients that add to its delicious taste. The St. Josephs Day altar is similar to gumbo in many ways. The altar is a mixture of many different things that add to its beauty. Some if these things include loaves of bread, cuccidates, fava beans, and more.
Visiting the altar on St. Joseph Day was a nice experience. I have never seen or been aware of the tradition until now. The altar was beautiful and definitely caught my full attention. There were many cuccidattas that were made by my fellow classmates, baskets full of fruit, candles lit, palm leaves, fava beans, and many other items that made the altar really represent what St. Joseph Day was all about. Everything was placed nicely and you can just tell by looking at it that everyone took their time and effort in setting it up. The Tupa Tupa that was being reenacted was very interesting. The three people portrays the role of Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The family are turned away from the food shelter two times but at the third door their knocks are welcomed and they are invited and offered a feast that they eat and are treated with the hospitality of St. Joseph. "Tupa Tupa" means "knock knock" in Italian. Gumbo is a very popular dish here in New Orleans. In making gumbo, there are many ingredients that make it come together like rice, sausage, shrimp, crab, oysters, vegetables, and many other ingredients. Compared to the St. Joseph altar, many things mix and come together to make it what it is. Cuccidatas, fava beans, candles, flowers, everyone's effort in setting it up, and a lot of mixes on the altar make it what it is. I am glad I helped set up the altar because I have learned a lot. It was fun to learn a tradition that you have never been aware of. I will be participating in more events like the St. Joseph in the near future.
My visit to the St. Joseph alter was interesting. This was my second St. Joseph alter that I’ve been. When I saw the alter it looked well decorated and colorful. There were a lot of people there, freshman seminar classes and visitors from out of school. At first I thought it was kind of boring but then what grabbed my attention was tuba tuba thing. To me that seemed like the most important thing during the St. Joseph alter. It was nice to see them reenact the skit. I liked how they had petitions for people to write something they want. The alter can be compared to gumbo. When you think of gumbo you think of all kinds of ingredients mixed together in one pot. The St. Joseph alter can be seen the same way. The alter is the pot, the different decorated foods is the ingredients, and the people gathering at the alter is family gathering to eat gumbo.
When I visited the altar on St. Joseph’s Day I was amazed about the way the altar was setup. The overall altar was breathtaking because it contains several different things and they all had significant meaning. I noticed the variety of religious candles,cookies,pray cards,fava beans,French bread, many dishes,and flowers. These are just a few of the things that truly stood out on the altar. I also noticed the statue of St. Joseph which is who we were honoring. I realized the important and the creativity of the altar as I walked around and looked at the altar. I was shocked by the cuccidatts that my classmate created that resembled a crab and mostly hearts. I wonder why there were sign-in books,but I liked the idea because it made the importance of St. Joseph’s Day celebration. As I walked around the room I also noticed that some of my classmate were dressed as biblical people in the bible Mary,Joseph, and Mary the sister. There were also tables that had pictures of people love ones who were deceased. I love the fact that they pay homage to the dead by placing their pictures on the altar. One of Louisiana’s main dishes is the Gumbo. Gumbo contains several things such as rice,vegetables,shrimp,sausage,variety of spices, and several other types of food that bring flavor to this New Orleans dish. I believe that the St. Joseph altar represents a “gumbo” because there were a variety of things that were placed on the altar. There were flowers,cookies,dishes,bread,and candles that were put on the altar. The altar has a variety of things that represents the celebration of St. Joseph. Gumbo is a signature dish that represents New Orleans. I believe that there are multiple things that can come together to full represent one single thing.
My visitation to the altar on St. Joseph’s Day was an amazing experience. It was my first time ever experiencing St. Joseph’s Day and I was very surprised at how big the celebration was. I found the altar to be very interesting and it was very beautiful. I also liked that there was an area for petitions and a history area. I took full advantage of the petition table that was set up and made sure to pray for those in need. I also like the reenactment of the Holy family. I believe that visiting the altar showed me how important St. Joseph’s Day is throughout the community. I really did enjoy the visit and I can’t wait to see next year’s altar. I believed that the altar represents a “gumbo” because gumbo is a sort of mixture of all foods. The altar was also a mixture of all different types of foods. However both gumbo and the altar form one whole substance even though it is made up of all sorts of foods. Together all the items in gumbo make one big dish no matter how many ingredients are involved. Just like gumbo, the altar is made up of many foods to form one St. Joseph’s Altar. Together the items make something very important.
My visit to the altar was great. It was nice to see all that we talked about come to. The altar was more beautiful than I could have imagined it to be. It felt good to know that I helped put a piece of the altar together in some way. With all the talk going on around campus about the altar it made me realize how big St. Joseph's Day is in our community. It is a good memory that will last with me for a while. I enjoyed all the community service we did to make it as great as it was. I hope to see another altar next you, that would be great. The altar represents a "gumbo" because alot of different things were incorporated to make it as great as it was. All kinds of different people helped decorate and also make all the different kinds of food that was displayed on the altar. Every different thing on the altar made it a very special and unique St. Joesph's altar and it was simply beautiful.
My visit to the altar on St. Joseph’s Day was a learning experience; it was my first time seeing an altar. I honestly did not know anything about St. Joseph before we began talking about it in Freshman Seminar. I learned St. Joseph is whom the Sicilians prayed to during the drought and he blessed them with fava bean, which is how they survived. Today to honor St. Joseph for his blessings Catholics build altars to give thanks and also provide food for those in need like the poor and homeless. There were several things that factored into the St. Joseph altar like cuccidata, blessed bread, fava beans, pupo con llova, and etc. Similarly gumbo is composed of several things such as: rice, saugage, okra, shrimp, oysters, etc. The interesting thing about the St. Joseph’s altar and gumbo is they are both composed of several ingredients and no two are the same. Some people hold some things important outside the normal holy family and cuccidata and of course food preferences vary so it would definitely be a coincident for two gumbos to exactly alike. I think it’s very interesting that no two St. Joseph’s altar’s are the same probably it takes a lot to make one and every community puts the same basic things on it and add a few other things they value to put their spin on it. After visiting the St. Joseph altar at school I would not mind seeing others next year just to see how diverse they really are and what other Catholic churches and community find valuable enough to include on their altar.
I enjoyed the visit to the St. Joseph’s Day altar because it was an interesting learning experience for me. Until the start of this semester I had no idea who St. Joseph was and why an altar was constructed in his honor. Throughout the course I’ve learned that he is the saint that the Sicilians prayed to during their time of need and he answered their prayers. Because of this, the Sicilians started the tradition of constructing altars to give thanks. The altars would have lots of different food items such as the cuccidata, fava beans, sesame seed cookies, and other things. Seeing the altar allowed me to see the final product of everyone’s hard work and it was really nice. After seeing the altar, it was pretty easy to see how it would be similar to gumbo. The altar was comprised of many different types of food just like gumbo is comprised of many different types of food. In the article “Gumbo”, it states that each bowlful is an edible mosaic of the history of the varied cultures that colonized New Orleans.” This showed the biggest connection to me between the gumbo and the altar because the altar is also an edible mosaic. The altar represents the tradition and history of St. Joseph’s day and how other cultures celebrate it. Different cultures may construct their altars differently so this would show how the cultures vary.
My visit to the St. Joseph’s altar was interesting. It was a new experience for me and I am happy that I was able to experience. On my way, walking to the altar I didn’t know what to expect. My mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. There were many people at the altar the day I went, I mean it was extremely packed. People were taking photos, discussing what they were seeing, and having a good time. When I looked at the altar I was in awe. Those who built the altar took their time in building and made it look perfect. I wish I was one of those people that built the altars, because they can say I that I built an altar in the honor of St. Joseph. On the altar they had various amounts of food and other things. It had vegetables, fruits, loaves of bread (I remember one bread being shape into a crap), sesame seeds cookies, cakes, cuccidatias, pictured, candles, different types of flowers and etc. From learning the history about the altar and being able to see one myself was awesome. I knew nothing about St. Joseph’s Day until I my spring semester in freshman seminar class. I am grateful to be able to learn new things. I personally think the altar represents gumbo because of the mixture of things that were on the tiers. Gumbo consists, of shrimp, craps, okra, sausage, chicken, gizzards, various about of seasonings and etc. The altar and gumbo is a big mixture of various things.
My visit to the St. Joseph's Day altar was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Not only did I help to create the altar, but to see other people enjoy it really made me happy. There were many people I had never seen on campus, and many visitors. This surprised me because the altar played such a big role in everyone's lives. There was a lot of food on the altar, and most of this food was made by our class which was another reason why I was happy because the visitors enjoyed the display. I even heard people talking about the altar outside of class which made me even happier because people were noticing it. Also, the presentation the three people did showing Mary, Baby Jesus, and Joseph was also entertaining. The altar represents gumbo because a lot of different foods and things were put together in one place, just like gumbo. From different types of Italian foods, to candles, flowers, and ornaments, everything was put together just like a "gumbo" of things.
Chinedu Echebelem
ReplyDeleteMy visit to the altar on St. Joseph’s Day was interesting and attention-grabbing. I had never been a part of such celebration or event and the way that everything was set up was very creative. I was expecting more of an altar resemblance, but instead it was a more like a stage of three tiers that contained many food items, flowers, and candles in honor of St. Joseph. Mostly there was the fava bean, or lucky bean, and the blessed bread that were in the shape of a crab and a fish. There was also a guest sign in booklet that reminded me of those that were at weddings and funerals. The enactment of the roles of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, sitting at a table and eating from the altar by my classmates was also a learning experience that I enjoyed. The altar also had a sort of prayer request table, and there was also a collection held for the Saint Joseph Day altar.
The altar represented and symbolized a “gumbo”, because of the mixture of items that the altar contained on its three tiers. In comparison to the St. Joseph’s Day Altar, gumbo, a soup that originated here in southern Louisiana, is a mixture of food items such as meat, shellfish, and seasoned vegetables. The altar incorporated candles, flowers, many Italian cookies such as the cuccidatti bread with figs which are made in a variety of shapes and symbols such as a heart, fish, cross, and dove, fava beans, and the blessed bread; they represent a blend similar to the ingredients found in gumbo.
When I think of gumbo, a New Orleans dish, I think of a packed soup with meat, shellfish, ocra, and certain seasonings all in one pot. The idea is that it is a mixture of different things just like the St. Joseph’s Day altar. The variety of foods, cookies, candles, and religious significance is all put together in one altar. All the different shapes, types of cookies, figs, different ingredients all were represented on the altar. Just like the finishing taste of gumbo, excellent, the altar was put together well and was absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSt. Joseph’s Altar day was truly a treat. All the things that we learned about the day such as the history, tradition, religious background, and the certain foods that are made for the day were all finally visualized for ourselves. The altar was a beautiful sight. It was really cool seeing our cuccidatas on the altar also. The three high tables with food and flowers were much expected, but it was still a new sight to see. I saw all the fava beans that represent the horrible famine. The blessed bread were really unique and I had never seen bread designed so cool as fish. Along with the food, there was a portion for collection for the actual altar. It was an honor to be a part of this rich tradition.
Nancy Pham
ReplyDeleteThe St. Joseph’s Day altar was very interesting to me. It was a new experience to me, because I never saw a St. Joseph’s Day altar before. I liked how there were things to see everywhere you turned. Right when you went in, there is a sign-in book and a bucket of fava beans to your right. I wanted to take a bean, but did not know if I could. The St. Joseph’s Day altar was on your left. It was really big and held everyone’s cuccidatti. I am glad that I got to contribute to the St. Joseph’s Day altar. I saw my cuccidatti on it and felt kind of proud. I was pretty amazed with the huge crab made out of bread. When you walked farther into the room, there was a table that held many pictures. I think the pictures were of the deceased or just people that family or friends wanted St. Joseph to bless or look after. The only thing I was a bit disappointed about was the fact that we did not get to eat anything after we took it down. It was understandable though, since the food was sitting out over the weekend.
Gumbo is a dish that contains many ingredients such as, seafood, chicken, pork, sausage, vegetables, and rice. Gumbo is a mixture of all of these things. In the same way, the St. Joseph’s Day altar was a mixture of different things. The altar had three tiers and they held candles, bread, cuccidatti, cookies, and flowers. However, the altar is more symbolic than gumbo. The bread on the altar was considered blessed bread and if there was a storm, throwing a piece of bread outside would abate the storm. The palms that decorated the altar represented the palms that were thrown at Jesus’s feet as he entered Jerusalem.
My visit to the St. Joseph’s altar was very interesting. I was not expecting to see all of that food in one place. The different foods were laid out in an extremely organized manner. I was astonished to see how everyone’s hard work in making the different foods had all come together to for this one beautiful masterpiece. The “tupa tupa” was very interesting also. Just seeing all of the different foods in one place and learning about all the different foods and what their meanings are really made me feel good about myself. It was a very well put together altar and I know that it definitely served its purpose in bringing back the tradition of building a St. Joseph’s Day altar. I believe that the St. Joseph’s Day altar represents “gumbo” because the altar was a large collaboration of all sorts of different foods. Gumbo, a New Orleans dish, is a type of soup that is filled with many different types of foods. These foods include chicken, shrimp, and different types of sausage, many different seasonings, any kind of rice, and many more ingredients. The St. Joseph’s Day altar represents a cup of gumbo because they both have many different types of foods in it all mixed together. Even though they are all mixed together to bring out one specific object, the fact that it takes so much time and precision to do it makes it all the more special.
ReplyDeleteMahalia Dees
ReplyDeleteMy visit to St. Joseph’s alter was definitely a learning experience. I have never heard of a St. Joseph’s alter until it was mentioned in Freshman Seminar class. I saw all the effort the class put into the project and I was proud to be a part of it.
I stepped into St. Josephs and I saw several people walking around the altar. Some were taking pictures, some were talking to their friends, bus most were reverently looking at the altar. Against a wall I saw what looked like shelves draped with a cloth printed with African patterns. On each shelf were fresh flowers, fresh fruit, and baked goods that students and volunteers made. On the top of the shelf were two candelabras and a large wooden statue of Joseph holding baby Jesus.
The altar represented a “gumbo” because like the food, it was a mixture of many different things all in one place. This just like how gumbo is a mixture of seafood, vegetables, meats, and spices all stewed together in one pot.
I noticed in front of the altar was a small table with white table cloth. There, people were writing down names of lost loved ones, issues, anything that they would want to be blessed by and watch over by St. Joseph.
I stood against the back wall, surveying the room while I waited for Tupa Tupa to start. Looking around at the people staring reverently at the altar and nicely dressed people taking pictures in front of the alter for school news, I realized that I was a part of school history. An altar has not been built at the school in recent years, so making cookies and my cuccidata for it made me feel special.
Tupa Tupa is a loose reenactment of the story of Jesus’ birth. Three people dressed as Jesus, Mary, and Joseph go around a neighborhood looking for lodging. They get turned away from every house except for the last house where they are fed a feast. For the Tupa Tupa at school, three people from the Freshman Seminar class were dressed in robes and walked around St. Joseph’s knocking on office doors and were turned away until they came to the front door again. They were seated next to the altar and had a feast of pasta.
My visit to the St. Joseph altar was cool. It was nice to see it fully develop for just simple works of art and decorated foods to a giant collage of decorations. The altar was such a wonderful sight to see. I really enjoyed myself while helpoing to create the altar. I helped make the cookies for the gift bags and I made my very own cucchidatia. My cucchidatia had a circle on it which is one of the symbols of St. Joseph's day. I also helped to decorate the alter. We put everyone's decorations of the cookie, and other symbols of the day onto the alter. It was such a beautiful sight to see. In the process we started up an old tradition that we should continue here at Xavier. All the freshman should make alters from now until the end of time to continue the tradition of thanking him for the past. St. Joseph alters resemble a gumbo because like gumbo it is made up of a mixture of many great things. A gumbo is a soup made with many ingredients such as rice, sausage crab, okra, and many seasonings. A St. Joseph's alter also has many different things such as paintings, symbols, many different kinds of food such as cucchidatia, cakes, and pies, and much much more. These two things gumbo and St.Joseph's alter are different but very much alike.
ReplyDeleteThe whole St. Joseph Day tradition is very spiritual and special. I would love to participate in this event again next year. People also come by and donate money for viewing the alter. I also this the tradition is about giving back to the community and they will give back to you.
Taylor Reuther
ReplyDeleteI was pretty humbled when I saw the St. Joseph’s Day Alter for the first time. It was my first time ever seeing one or honestly hearing about the tradition. I was awestruck at how well it all came together really. There were so many different food items and holy items upon the table that the whole surrounding area just had a holy aura going on. Everyone that walked through was quiet and respectful towards the alter and that made me really happy to know that there are still people like that out there.
The alter could be described as a gumbo due to the fact that there were so many different unrelated items upon the alter. There were cuccidatas, fig cookies, candles, statues, and pictures. Gumbo is a dish served in New Orleans in which many different food items are placed to create a luscious meal full of flavor. The alter parallels a gumbo because of the various items upon the alter, like the cookies, the bread, the huge statue of St. Joseph and Mary, lite candles, crosses and crucifixes, and pictures of the class. Classmates whom were taking part in Tupa Tupa, which was the knocking on doors, portrayed the roles of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This was pretty cool to see. This whole experience was one ill never forget, and I hope to take part in another alter making process sometime in my life.
TaiRhe Turner
ReplyDeleteMy visit to the St. Joseph’s altar was inspiring. To see all the levels of creativity on display in that way was great. To be apart of something like that was humbling. I didn’t really know what to expect when I first started hearing about this altar stuff. I definitely wouldn’t have pictured it to come together the way it did. Everyone did a great job of working together as a team in honor of St. Joseph. I also enjoyed seeing my fellow peers reenact Mary and Joseph.
The altar represents a gumbo because of variety. If you think of a gumbo, you think of carrots, steak, shrimp, okra, and all kinds of ingredients, including seasonings. A gumbo isn’t a gumbo without the unifying of all these different ingredients to make one healthy, good-tasting dish. The same applies to the altar. There were pictures, all kinds of different forms of artwork, food candles, and flowers. All of these things worked together to display one altar. All the little things and big things worked together to make this altar; just as ingredients to a gumbo make a meal.
Anthony Poche
ReplyDeleteMy visit to the St. Joesph’s Day altar was a unique experience that I think was quite memorable. I admittedly enjoyed visiting more than I thought I would. It was great to see something that I had been researching all semester right in front of me. I was proud to see my chuchidata featured on the altar along with all my other classmates. Our hard work had paid off into an experience the whole campus could enjoy, faculty and students alike. It was good to see so many people enjoy not only the altar but the literature and other activities surrounding it. Many students seemed interested in the tupa-tupa reenactment since they had never seen it before and we unsure of what it represented. I was a little surprised at myself being able to explain its significance to my peers. I did not realize how much knowledge of the event I had acquired until I was asked about it in detail. The St. Joseph’s Day altar represents a gumbo in that it features various desserts, breads, snacks, art, and tributes all in one place. Gumbo is a dish that contains different meats, seasonings, vegetables, and rice. It is a unique dish because it has so many different foods in it and it various in flavor and style from cook to cook. The altar was similar it it’s variety and distinction from other St. Joseph's Day altars. It also can be viewed as a gumbo because it was the culmination and group effort of many different people to become such an amazing display. I am glad I was able to participate in such an eye opening event and I hope to be a part of it again next year. Hopefully it will be even bigger and better than this year.
My visit to the Saint Joseph Day Altar was interesting because I have never seen anything like that before. While singing in, I could see that people were really interested and wanted to take a lucky bean. I saw my classmates dress up as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. I learned what the fava bean truly stood for and represented. I knew then that the bean was the lucky bean that we read about in class. I saw my cuccidatti sitting on the altar and took pride in the fact that I made it. I saw fruits, flowers, and other baked items on the altar. I like many of the students took great interest in the tupa-tupa. I have never seen anything like it. The blessed bread was an important part of the altar because a lot more people knew about that part of Saint Joseph Day. Our hard work we put in to making the altar really paid off, and the class gave great background on this event. The altar represents a gumbo because like gumbo the altar was made up of many things. Gumbo is made with chicken, rice, vegetables, shrimp, crab, and other various things. The altar was also made up of many things. It had flowers, cookies, bread, and other things too. I believe that the altar plays a more important role that gumbo. Gumbo is just a soup, but the Saint Joseph Day Altar is much more than that. It is a symbol of faith the Saint Joseph while gumbo is just a part of Louisiana food culture. I really enjoyed every part in making the altar. I contributed to making the fig cookies. I helped set up the altar for Saint Joseph Day. Now that I know the true meaning behind it, I will continue to participate in the future.
ReplyDeleteCharity Crain
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to go visit the altar on St. Joseph’s day, I got to see the reactions of other people who were not involved in creating the actual altar. Despite the fact that I did not actually make the items that were on display, I could still say I was a part of it because I was there during the setting up process. When I went to set up the altar, I already had an inside scoop on what to expect when I went to the altar. However, although we finished early, the altar was not completely ready. When I saw the altar finally done and with so many people inside showed that the work that I had put into helping set up the altar was truly worth it. Everything was set up nicely. I was very happy with everything, especially since it was my first time attending a St. Joseph’s day altar.
To say that the altar represents a “gumbo” can be quite realistic. So many different items were blended in together to give the altar that special appeal. There was such a variety on display, from the sesame seed cookies to the pictures of important people in certain individual’s lives. It was a nice blend. The way these items were set up also complimented each other, just like the ingredients in gumbo. When done the right way, gumbo tastes amazing, but when in the wrong hands it can come out simply awful. When the St. Joseph’s Day altar was done, it was clearly done the right way because everything looked amazing.
My visit to the St. Josephs Day altar was different. I have never took part in anything like that before. It was informative and I learned many different things about St. Josephs Day. By me contributing to it and its beauty with my cuccidatte being placed on the altar, made it that much more influential to me. I signed the guest book and watched as three of my classmates took part in the feasting. I have never heard anything about a St. Josephs Day altar upon entering Freshman Seminar. The only thing I knew about St. Josephs Day was that the Indians would come out uptown.
ReplyDeleteAs many people know, gumbo is a traditional New Orleans dish. It is made of many different things and ingredients that add to its delicious taste. The St. Josephs Day altar is similar to gumbo in many ways. The altar is a mixture of many different things that add to its beauty. Some if these things include loaves of bread, cuccidates, fava beans, and more.
Anh Phuong Dang
ReplyDeleteVisiting the altar on St. Joseph Day was a nice experience. I have never seen or been aware of the tradition until now. The altar was beautiful and definitely caught my full attention. There were many cuccidattas that were made by my fellow classmates, baskets full of fruit, candles lit, palm leaves, fava beans, and many other items that made the altar really represent what St. Joseph Day was all about. Everything was placed nicely and you can just tell by looking at it that everyone took their time and effort in setting it up. The Tupa Tupa that was being reenacted was very interesting. The three people portrays the role of Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The family are turned away from the food shelter two times but at the third door their knocks are welcomed and they are invited and offered a feast that they eat and are treated with the hospitality of St. Joseph. "Tupa Tupa" means "knock knock" in Italian.
Gumbo is a very popular dish here in New Orleans. In making gumbo, there are many ingredients that make it come together like rice, sausage, shrimp, crab, oysters, vegetables, and many other ingredients. Compared to the St. Joseph altar, many things mix and come together to make it what it is. Cuccidatas, fava beans, candles, flowers, everyone's effort in setting it up, and a lot of mixes on the altar make it what it is.
I am glad I helped set up the altar because I have learned a lot. It was fun to learn a tradition that you have never been aware of. I will be participating in more events like the St. Joseph in the near future.
Peter Huynh
ReplyDeleteMy visit to the St. Joseph alter was interesting. This was my second St. Joseph alter that I’ve been. When I saw the alter it looked well decorated and colorful. There were a lot of people there, freshman seminar classes and visitors from out of school. At first I thought it was kind of boring but then what grabbed my attention was tuba tuba thing. To me that seemed like the most important thing during the St. Joseph alter. It was nice to see them reenact the skit. I liked how they had petitions for people to write something they want. The alter can be compared to gumbo. When you think of gumbo you think of all kinds of ingredients mixed together in one pot. The St. Joseph alter can be seen the same way. The alter is the pot, the different decorated foods is the ingredients, and the people gathering at the alter is family gathering to eat gumbo.
When I visited the altar on St. Joseph’s Day I was amazed about the way the altar was setup. The overall altar was breathtaking because it contains several different things and they all had significant meaning. I noticed the variety of religious candles,cookies,pray cards,fava beans,French bread, many dishes,and flowers. These are just a few of the things that truly stood out on the altar. I also noticed the statue of St. Joseph which is who we were honoring. I realized the important and the creativity of the altar as I walked around and looked at the altar. I was shocked by the cuccidatts that my classmate created that resembled a crab and mostly hearts. I wonder why there were sign-in books,but I liked the idea because it made the importance of St. Joseph’s Day celebration. As I walked around the room I also noticed that some of my classmate were dressed as biblical people in the bible Mary,Joseph, and Mary the sister. There were also tables that had pictures of people love ones who were deceased. I love the fact that they pay homage to the dead by placing their pictures on the altar.
ReplyDeleteOne of Louisiana’s main dishes is the Gumbo. Gumbo contains several things such as rice,vegetables,shrimp,sausage,variety of spices, and several other types of food that bring flavor to this New Orleans dish. I believe that the St. Joseph altar represents a “gumbo” because there were a variety of things that were placed on the altar. There were flowers,cookies,dishes,bread,and candles that were put on the altar. The altar has a variety of things that represents the celebration of St. Joseph. Gumbo is a signature dish that represents New Orleans. I believe that there are multiple things that can come together to full represent one single thing.
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ReplyDeleteMy visitation to the altar on St. Joseph’s Day was an amazing experience. It was my first time ever experiencing St. Joseph’s Day and I was very surprised at how big the celebration was. I found the altar to be very interesting and it was very beautiful. I also liked that there was an area for petitions and a history area. I took full advantage of the petition table that was set up and made sure to pray for those in need. I also like the reenactment of the Holy family. I believe that visiting the altar showed me how important St. Joseph’s Day is throughout the community. I really did enjoy the visit and I can’t wait to see next year’s altar.
ReplyDeleteI believed that the altar represents a “gumbo” because gumbo is a sort of mixture of all foods. The altar was also a mixture of all different types of foods. However both gumbo and the altar form one whole substance even though it is made up of all sorts of foods.
Together all the items in gumbo make one big dish no matter how many ingredients are involved. Just like gumbo, the altar is made up of many foods to form one St. Joseph’s Altar. Together the items make something very important.
My visit to the altar was great. It was nice to see all that we talked about come to. The altar was more beautiful than I could have imagined it to be. It felt good to know that I helped put a piece of the altar together in some way. With all the talk going on around campus about the altar it made me realize how big St. Joseph's Day is in our community. It is a good memory that will last with me for a while. I enjoyed all the community service we did to make it as great as it was. I hope to see another altar next you, that would be great.
ReplyDeleteThe altar represents a "gumbo" because alot of different things were incorporated to make it as great as it was. All kinds of different people helped decorate and also make all the different kinds of food that was displayed on the altar. Every different thing on the altar made it a very special and unique St. Joesph's altar and it was simply beautiful.
My visit to the altar on St. Joseph’s Day was a learning experience; it was my first time seeing an altar. I honestly did not know anything about St. Joseph before we began talking about it in Freshman Seminar. I learned St. Joseph is whom the Sicilians prayed to during the drought and he blessed them with fava bean, which is how they survived. Today to honor St. Joseph for his blessings Catholics build altars to give thanks and also provide food for those in need like the poor and homeless. There were several things that factored into the St. Joseph altar like cuccidata, blessed bread, fava beans, pupo con llova, and etc. Similarly gumbo is composed of several things such as: rice, saugage, okra, shrimp, oysters, etc. The interesting thing about the St. Joseph’s altar and gumbo is they are both composed of several ingredients and no two are the same. Some people hold some things important outside the normal holy family and cuccidata and of course food preferences vary so it would definitely be a coincident for two gumbos to exactly alike. I think it’s very interesting that no two St. Joseph’s altar’s are the same probably it takes a lot to make one and every community puts the same basic things on it and add a few other things they value to put their spin on it. After visiting the St. Joseph altar at school I would not mind seeing others next year just to see how diverse they really are and what other Catholic churches and community find valuable enough to include on their altar.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the visit to the St. Joseph’s Day altar because it was an interesting learning experience for me. Until the start of this semester I had no idea who St. Joseph was and why an altar was constructed in his honor. Throughout the course I’ve learned that he is the saint that the Sicilians prayed to during their time of need and he answered their prayers. Because of this, the Sicilians started the tradition of constructing altars to give thanks. The altars would have lots of different food items such as the cuccidata, fava beans, sesame seed cookies, and other things. Seeing the altar allowed me to see the final product of everyone’s hard work and it was really nice.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing the altar, it was pretty easy to see how it would be similar to gumbo. The altar was comprised of many different types of food just like gumbo is comprised of many different types of food. In the article “Gumbo”, it states that each bowlful is an edible mosaic of the history of the varied cultures that colonized New Orleans.” This showed the biggest connection to me between the gumbo and the altar because the altar is also an edible mosaic. The altar represents the tradition and history of St. Joseph’s day and how other cultures celebrate it. Different cultures may construct their altars differently so this would show how the cultures vary.
My visit to the St. Joseph’s altar was interesting. It was a new experience for me and I am happy that I was able to experience. On my way, walking to the altar I didn’t know what to expect. My mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. There were many people at the altar the day I went, I mean it was extremely packed. People were taking photos, discussing what they were seeing, and having a good time. When I looked at the altar I was in awe. Those who built the altar took their time in building and made it look perfect. I wish I was one of those people that built the altars, because they can say I that I built an altar in the honor of St. Joseph. On the altar they had various amounts of food and other things. It had vegetables, fruits, loaves of bread (I remember one bread being shape into a crap), sesame seeds cookies, cakes, cuccidatias, pictured, candles, different types of flowers and etc. From learning the history about the altar and being able to see one myself was awesome. I knew nothing about St. Joseph’s Day until I my spring semester in freshman seminar class. I am grateful to be able to learn new things. I personally think the altar represents gumbo because of the mixture of things that were on the tiers. Gumbo consists, of shrimp, craps, okra, sausage, chicken, gizzards, various about of seasonings and etc. The altar and gumbo is a big mixture of various things.
ReplyDeleteMy visit to the St. Joseph's Day altar was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Not only did I help to create the altar, but to see other people enjoy it really made me happy. There were many people I had never seen on campus, and many visitors. This surprised me because the altar played such a big role in everyone's lives. There was a lot of food on the altar, and most of this food was made by our class which was another reason why I was happy because the visitors enjoyed the display. I even heard people talking about the altar outside of class which made me even happier because people were noticing it. Also, the presentation the three people did showing Mary, Baby Jesus, and Joseph was also entertaining. The altar represents gumbo because a lot of different foods and things were put together in one place, just like gumbo. From different types of Italian foods, to candles, flowers, and ornaments, everything was put together just like a "gumbo" of things.
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