WGNO

Happy St. Joseph’s Day! What are those altars all about?

St. Joseph's Altar at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Metairie.

NEW ORLEANS — All around New Orleans today, you’ll find beautiful altars set up for St. Joseph’s Day.

The holiday pays tribute to the saint who helped Sicily during a famine.

In New Orleans, Sicilian-born immigrants started celebrating St. Joseph’s Day in the 1800s.

Now, it’s celebrated by many different people as a way to give thanks for good fortune.