So if you live in Algarve or are spending your holidays in Portugal this week, here is whats happening in Portimao tomorrow from 22.00
Sunday 15th June
Popular Saints Parades - Portimao
From 22.00
Riverside Area
Popular Saints’ Festivals
Jumping over bonfires with the scent of rosemary
In June, the Algarve gains its own special charm as it celebrates its local or so-called “popular” patron saints. Villages, towns and cities bedeck their squares and streets with brightly–coloured flagpoles, decorated with myrtle and lavender to celebrate the month of St. Anthony, St. John and St. Peter.
The ground is prepared for the open-air festivities and people dance to the sound of popular music, jumping over bonfires whilst cheering their respective patron saints Wine is drunk and grilled sardines are eaten. This is a ritual that is repeated in almost every town and village in the Algarve on these special hot nights that herald the arrival of summer. In an atmosphere of great merriment, heavily marked by the intense smell of the rosemary that is burnt on the bonfires, and the pleasant aroma of the pots of sweet basil (in which are placed short verses alluding to the saints, which will later be exchanged between sweethearts), the time is one of conviviality, eating and lots of entertainment.
In the old days, the girls of marriageable age entertained themselves by drawing “lots”, as part of a game of divination and interpretation of the future, based on a variety of situations. The sorte das favas was the most famous way of foretelling the future and allowed the girls to see if the year was going to be a prosperous one, a time of abundance, or a poor one, a year of hardship. The girls would get hold of three broad beans – one shelled, another one with half its skin and the other one completely unshelled – and then, after jumping over the bonfire nine times, they would place them under the pillow, removing one the next morning. If the shelled bean was drawn out, the next year would be one of poverty (the opposite would mean a year of prosperity). The burning of thistles, the melting of lead or the sorte da bacia de água (a drawing of lots based on the use of a basin of water) are other versions of these games, in which having fun was more important than actually believing in the result.
Nowadays, the highlight will be the popular marchas (dancing parades and competitions) that parade up and down the streets in honour of St. Anthony, St. John and St. Peter, to the great delight of the enthusiastic local audience. The tradition of celebrating the Popular Saints is kept very much alive in the Algarve, as is proved by the great number of open-air dances and festivals, where there is always a bonfire and great excitement, resulting in parties that last till dawn, on 13, 24 and 29 June, depending on whether it is St. Anthony, St. John or St. Peter that is being honoured.
