New Orleans never ceases to amaze me.

On St. Patrick’s Day, paraders throw beads – and cabbages, onions and carrots. Real cabbages, onions and carrots. And many people take them home and cook them.

St. Joseph’s Day, which comes a few days later, is an Italian holiday. Part of the observance involves the creation of elaborate altars with food which at the end of the festival period is distributed to the needy.
Here’s some more information about the St. Joseph’s Day Altars of New Orleans.