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📅 holiday

Feast of St Joseph

Thursday, March 19, 2026

— days to go

The Feast of St Joseph is a public holiday in Malta to honour and learn from the example of Joseph the husband of Mary and legal earthly father of Jesus. In 2027, Feast of St Joseph falls on Friday 19 March. The holiday will be on Sunday 19 March in 2028. March 19th is celebrated as the Feast of Saint Joseph in other lands too, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Canada. It is mostly kept as a special date by Roman Catholics, but some Lutherans and Anglicans keep the feast as well. The Feast of Saint Joseph has been observed as a day of special remembrance since the 10th Century A.D., and thus, the traditions involved run very deep. The holiday always occurs during Lent, and therefore, feasting tables are meatless, except for fish, though certainly not “impoverished” as to flavour. The date is normally set on March 19th, but can be moved when necessary to better “fit into” the Lenten and Easter season Calendar. In Malta, the main celebrations are held in Mdina, a suburb of the city of Rabat. Mdina is the “old capital” of Malta, before the government relocated to Valletta. As with the other 14 public Maltese holidays, most businesses close down for the Feast of Saint Joseph. The Biblical account of Joseph is found in the four Gospels, including in Mathew chapters one and two. There, Joseph was contemplating divorcing Mary privately over what he supposed was unfaithfulness, to avoid causing her public shame. God informed Joseph in a dream that Mary was “with child of the Holy Spirit” and that he should call the child “Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” Later, God told him to flee to Egypt to escape the jealous wrath of King Herod and to return once Herod had died. Joseph supported his family in Nazareth as a carpenter and is now the patron saint of carpenters in Catholic theology. He is not heard of later in the Gospels, presumably because he had passed away before the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Three things to watch for if in Malta for the Feast of Saint Joseph are:

History

The Feast of Saint Joseph has been observed as a day of special remembrance since the 10th Century A. , and thus, the traditions involved run very deep. ” Later, God told him to flee to Egypt to escape the jealous wrath of King Herod and to return once Herod had died. He is not heard of later in the Gospels, presumably because he had passed away before the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry

How It's Celebrated

The Feast of St Joseph is a public holiday in Malta to honour and learn from the example of Joseph the husband of Mary and legal earthly father of Jesus. In 2027, Feast of St Joseph falls on Friday 19 March. The holiday will be on Sunday 19 March in 2028. March 19th is celebrated as the Feast of Sai

Other Years

2027 Fri
19 Mar
2028 Sun
19 Mar
2026 Thu
19 Mar
2025 Wed
19 Mar

Countries

🇲🇹 MT

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