Those were still happy times, back in the 1960s, when schools and factories were closed on St. Joseph’s Day (March 19). Josefi has always been a holiday in Bavaria, and after Elector Ferdinand Maria declared St. Joseph the state patron in 1663, the Bavarians began to laze around on their patron’s special day and pay tribute to him with strong beer and fatty sausages. A custom that did justice to the current penchant for the four-day week and work-life balance in ancient times.
The misery began in 1968 when the Josefi holiday was abolished – by the CSU, of all people, which at that time consisted of almost army-strong men with the first name Josef. The bearers of this name complained that this was a “shameful disgrace”. Out of spite, they founded the “Royal Bavarian St. Joseph’s Party”, whose sole goal is to reinstate St. Joseph’s Day as a state holiday. But the general depression has long since affected the 6,000-member Joseph Party. On their homepage you can read that due to a lack of demand and participation, the Josefsfreunde party conference will be suspended until further notice.
St. Joseph’s Day, one of the proudest bastions of joie de vivre, brotherhood and tolerance, is currently being shattered by the spirit of the times. Even the state parliament, always a repository of Josephine bigheads, is slowly sliding into a Josephine crisis. While there were still 21 Josefs or Seppns represented in parliament in the 1946-50 legislative period, the number had already dwindled to 16 in 1954/58. In 1970/74 only nine politicians named Josef. In the current state parliament there are only four members named Josef (Josef Heisl, CSU, Josef Lausch, FW, Josef Schmid, CSU, and Josef Zellmeier, CSU). But this quartet is also slowly approaching an age where their heads are getting wider and their hair is thinning.
At least there are still inns that are willing to give the remaining Josefs, Seppen and Josefins a free meal for their name day. And the Wendelsteinbahn even invites everyone with this name to a free ride up and down the mountain on St. Joseph’s Day. With all due respect, it should also be mentioned that not every Joseph is a good role model. It’s not for nothing that an old saying goes: “Sepp the idiot squandered the money, sold off the house and raped with the beggar woman.”