Tonight is the party celebration for Oporto's patron saint - São João - and the Mediterranean answer to midsummer parties. São João festival was built on the remnants of the pagan celebration of Summer solstice, which symbolised the abundance of crops and fertility, and thus inevitably connected to sun & fire worship.
Preparations begin several days in advance, with each neighbourhood dressing up with colourful decorations.
Offering friends potted basil decorated with handwritten poems is one of the traditions, and so is eating sardines and melon. Some pastry shops sell baked replicas of potted basil.
''Cascata” literally means cascade and, during São João festival, they are representations of variegated sceneries, often with water elements. “Cascatas” traditionally reproduce typical places in Porto and painted clay figurines represent people, professions and animals.
Also for sale on street corners are long-stemmed, purple garlic flowers. People buy these to hit people on the head with and to wave in people’s faces, Everyone walks the streets armed with a plastic hammer that they use to hit their companions and random strangers on the head.
Fireworks, bonfires and launching hot air balloons make part of the celebrations of the most important night of the year in the city.
I wish a Very Happy São João to all my Porto friends.
Best wishes for a wonderful weekend to all the others who stop by.
What a wonderfully colourful festival of Mid-summer!! I loved all of your photos. I would think that after the festivities one would need an aspirin or two.....being constantly hit on the head could cause a headache!! Happy São João Isabel!!
ReplyDeleteHi Mitch! Thanks for visiting and commenting. Perhaps I misused the word hitting and I should have used touched, instead. Sometimes people are rough but not that so.... Have a nice day!
DeleteOs seus manjericos foram a minha inspiração num óleo no digital. Obrigada!
ReplyDeleteIsabel, fico bem satisfeita e que elogio!!!! Acabei de comentar no Facebook... Gostei da visita!
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