|
|
|
|
|
Cultural Catholicism in Cajun-Creole Louisiana By Marcia Gaudet Sacraments and Sacramentals Novena to Saint Clare, Statue of Saint Joseph, Saint Medard's Day Some of the practices may even be called whimsical. For example, there is the popular practice of using statues of Saint Joseph, buried up side down in a yard, to assure or hasten the sale of a home. It is unclear where this practice originated, but it is definitely known and practiced in southern Louisiana. I have been told that some realtors keep statues of Saint Joseph in their offices in case a client requests one. One of my students told me about a new homeowner in Lafayette getting a call from the former owners, asking them to dig up the statue that had been buried in the yard. This practice is known in other areas of the country as well. Since Saint Joseph was a carpenter as well as the Patron Saint of Families, it seems fitting that he should have a role in the sales of homes. There is also the belief among the older generation of Cajuns that if it rains on June 8th, Saint Medard's Day, it will rain for forty days. Saint Medard was a sixth century French bishop, and this belief among the Cajuns is analogous to the weather forecasting beliefs about Saint Swithin's Day (July 15) in England. This is certainly still known in southwestern Louisiana as well as near New Orleans. A few years ago, a television weather reporter in Lafayette presented a version of the weather prognostication beliefs associated with June 8th but instead of relating those beliefs to a saint's legend, he gave the spelling as "Samidar," a phonetic spelling of the French pronunciation of Saint Medard. |
|
|
