Most catholic countries are quite vocal about their religious traditions, but here in Portugal, patron saint celebrations are on a whole other level. Even though the entire country erupts in all kinds of over-the-top festivities during the month of June, the celebrations of São João in Porto are widely considered the craziest in the country. In fact, we call it “the longest night of the year”, so be ready for a slugfest of a party, filled with sardines, plastic hammer blows, music, fireworks, and – spoiler alert – looooooots of walking!
WHY DO WE CELEBRATE SÃO JOÃO IN PORTO?
It might be hard to trace the celebrations’ origins given how ancient they are, but it’s widely accepted that the June festivities were first based on pagan beliefs. Yep, you read it right – this huge religious fest used to be a big pagan party honouring fertility and abundance! In fact, the catholic church didn’t want anything to do with it, but after realizing there was no way locals would stop celebrating, they basically claimed the June festival to be in honour of St. John the Baptist, who had been born on June 24th. Well, if you can’t beat them, the least you can do is join them!
WHAT TO DO TO EXPERIENCE SÃO JOÃO LIKE A LOCAL
EAT SARDINES
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If you want to start your São João in proper Portuense style, then having grilled sardines soaked in top-quality Portuguese olive oil is mandatory! Be warned though – unlike most places, we do not clean our sardine’s guts. This means you ought to clean them first before eating, otherwise you might start your night on a pretty sour note. Luckily, you may wash the bad taste with some amazing caldo verde!
Although there certainly isn’t going to be any shortage of restaurants in the city centre offering the treat, we recommend that you take your dinner to Matosinhos, more specifically to the restaurant Rei da Sardinha Assada. Translated as “The King of Grilled Sardines”, we can only say there’s an inverse correlation between the quality of their fish and the level of their modesty!
SEE THE FIREWORKS AT RIBEIRA
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Taking place every single year when the clock strikes midnight on the night of the 23rd, the São João fireworks are one of the most anticipated moments of the night. Thousands of people gather by the riverfront, the Douro is filled with sail boats and all eyes are set on the night sky to watch the glitzy show. From this moment on, the real party begins and anything goes!
RELEASE A PAPER BALLOON
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One of our favourite things about São João is the way the sky gets lit up with hundreds (maybe thousands!) of hot air paper balloons every year during the night’s event. All around the city, you’ll find many groups of friends or entire families releasing their colourful balloons and watching it make its way across the darkness. It makes for great photos, but don’t forget to put your phone aside for a couple of minutes and enjoy the atmosphere. As a quick note though, you should look out for possible bans by the authorities due to the risk of wildfires (although this only happened last year, so maybe you’ll get lucky!).
EMBRACE THE PLASTIC HAMMER HITS…
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Don’t find it weird if hundreds of people slam you in the head with plastic hammers – it’s tradition! As mentioned earlier, the São João was once a pagan fest to celebrate fertility, so people used to take garlic flowers (which resemble a well-known phallic element) and rub them in the faces of passers-by. As you might expect, this experience is rather unpleasing, so locals started using plastic hammers instead since the 70’s. Don’t forget to buy your own hammer and slam away – no one will care and it doesn’t hurt!
… AND AVOID THE GARLIC FLOWERS
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With that being said, that doesn’t mean the old ways have died just yet. You’ll still find many people wandering around with garlic flowers, angering tourists and locals alike with the plant’s foul smell. Yep, even the locals hate it. It’s probably the second most unpleasant phallic shape anyone could throw at your face!
WALK ALONG THE RIVERSIDE
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In the end, this is what São João is all about. After the sardines, the fireworks and the paper balloons, everyone just walks along the river banks for hours on end, wandering aimlessly and soaking in the party atmosphere. You’ll walk through tiny traditional neighbourhoods, countless street concerts, food stands and meet all kinds of crazy people celebrating, singing, dancing, drinking on the streets and enjoying the longest night of the year. Go all the way to Foz do Douro (or even Matosinhos!) and cap off your São João experience watching the sunrise.
You may now consider yourself ready for São João in Porto! What are you looking up to the most? Let us know on the comments section!
