The Portuguese Tradition of Popular Saints

1. The Portuguese Tradition
of
Popular Saints

2. The month of June brings great festivities from north to south of
Portugal. From the 12th to the 29th of June, Saint Anthony, St. John
and St. Peter are consecrated.
In Portugal, as a tradition, celebrate the nights that precede the day
of the Saints. These festivities are stuffed with popular marches,
music, dancers, fireworks, arches, balloons, basils, leeks, lavender,
etc.

3. In certain areas, it is part of the tradition that the people go out on
the street withplastichammers to "knock" on the head of those who
walk through the street and, with lemon, lavender and garlic porro
to give to smell.
They are also called "Valentine's Herb", as the young men offer the
girls a basil as proof and commitment to love.
According to Gilberto Freire, the scarcity of Portuguese in the
colony, underlined the value of marriage or even procreation (with
or without marriage), making popular the patron saints of Love,
fertility and unions. Thus, the Great national Saints became, at the
time those to whom the popular imagination attributed miraculous
intervention capable of approaching sexes, fertilizing women and
protecting motherhood – such as St. Anthony, St. John and St. Peter.
It is said that Saint Anthony if he is "properly" invoked arranges
marriage, even for the most ungracious of the young women – this
is the most holy quality of the saint during the June festivals.
St. John also had these functions and St. Peter became known as
the protector of widows.
Celebrating means bringing to memory, remembering. That is, it is
about remembering with others some important person or fact for
the community.

4. "St. Anthony, June 13th
With marches of Enchantment,
Twenty-four St. John
Twenty-nine St. Peter to finish. "
(in Portuguese, is a rhyme)