LADIES: Looking for a husband? Then steal a lemon!

Fruit has long been a symbol of abundance and the harvest. But depending on your ethnicity and where you live, specific kinds of fruit symbolize different things. Take the lemon, for example. In the United States, most people associate this bright yellow fruit with something bitter or bad. We all know the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade (although it should be ‘Limoncello,’ in my opinion).” And if you buy a car that breaks down a lot, you call it “a lemon.”

But in most Catholic cultures, the lemon is a symbol of love and fidelity, which may explain a bizarre tradition in the Italian-American community. What is this tradition? Brace yourselves, girls. Legend has it that a single woman looking to find a husband should steal a lemon from a St. Joseph's Day altar. If—and only if—she successfully takes the lemon when no one is looking, then she will be engaged or even married by the following Saint Joseph’s Day.

Now, I’m sure that the marriage-minded among you are thinking, “Where can I find this amazing altar?” Well, because St. Joseph, a.k.a. San Giuseppe, is the patron saint of Sicily (in addition to being the adoptive father of Jesus), Sicilian-American communities in the U.S. create these altars on his feast day, March 19, to feed the poor. The two largest and most famous celebrations of St. Joseph’s Day take place in New Orleans and New York.

Meanwhile, I’ll bet that this unabashed lemon thievery has some of you are wondering, “Whatever happened to ‘thou shalt not steal’?” After all, this is a Catholic tradition. The answer to that question is, in Italian-American speak, “Fuhgeddaboudit.” Everyone knows that all is fair in love and war—even if it means stealing a lemon from a Catholic altar devoted to Jesus’s dad and intended to feed the hungry.

So, whatever your plans come March 19, I feel obliged to warn you about another legend associated with the St. Joseph’s Day altar. Many believe that you will get pregnant if you steal a lemon from this altar, which is QUITE a bit different than landing yourself a man. With this information in mind, if you still want to bear the risk (get it? “bear”?) and steal a lemon from the altar, then at least try not to take a lemon lemon.

NOTE: The above picture of the lemons, which are at least three times the size of the oranges, was taken in Sorrento, Italy. How would you like to try to steal one of those babies unnoticed?


Comments

LADIES: Looking for a husband? Then steal a lemon! — 15 Comments

  1. Guess who’ll be in New Orleans on March 19th? I’ll offer a ride to my single girlfriends, but I don’t want another husband, I just want to get pregnant. Low-necked shirt paired with a sports bra could easily conceal a couple of super lemons as I want twins. A Thanksgiving baby showe seems appropriate.

  2. I’m looking for a nice Catholic girl to marry my 30 year old son. Can I steal a lemon and prepare food using the lemon and serve it to him to eat. Would this be a blessing and prayers answered?

  3. OMG as Italian Girl grow up and going to St Joseph alters
    I alway new the tradition of stealing a lemon you would find a man or husband, Never new the part about getting pregnant. Now I know after stealing my frost lemon right after meeting my boyfriend at the time is two months later I found out I was pregnant with our daughter 17 years love her to death wold not change anything about having her another then things not working out with her dad still go to St Joseph alters every year Mufht rethinkk about why stealing a lemon😋😘😘

  4. This is laugh-out-loud amusingly funny. I had never heard of this ‘steal a lemon’ until I read this book titled: Amaretto Amber by Traci Andrighetti it was amusing but I found the jargon to be confusing. I like the book because of some of the characters as they were zany if one can use such a word.
    —————-
    You have a great mind, keep writing!

  5. I have two lemons in two different windows in my house and they have been there for over a year. They are hard and rotten looking, but my faith will not let me throw them away until the day after my wedding. I have relentless faith I will not give up.

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