The History and Portuguese Cultural Heritage of Oporto’s Saint John’s Night

Cascata de S. João (Saint John’s Cascade). Photo by Artur Filipe dos Santos

It is a timeless tradition that takes us back to the ancient Celtic festivals of the summer solstice. Oporto’s festivities of Saint John the Baptist (São João)o still today represents a union between the sacred and the pagan — a blend of customs in which the sardine reigns supreme, and where the famous martelinho (little hammer) was born in the context of another major annual festivity in the city.

It is, undeniably, the longest night in the “Cidade Invicta”. From the 23rd to the 24th of June, the people of Portugal’s second major city take to the streets with their hammers or wild leeks, delight in dripping grilled sardines, homes are filled with the scent of manjerico (a type of basil that blooms at this time of year), and bonfires are lit along the beaches.

Such is the night of São João — the most beloved festivity among the tripeiros (Oporto’s affectionate nickname for its inhabitants). Curiously, as in Lisbon, this Popular Saint is not the city’s official patron; in Porto, that role belongs to Our Lady of Vandoma (just as Saint Vincent, not Saint Anthony — also known as “Saint Anthony of Padua”), is the true patron of Lisbon).

Officially, the Feast of Saint John the Baptist is a Catholic celebration that honours his birth, with the 24th of June marked by a solemn mass and procession. However, the São João festival in Porto — as well as in Vila do Conde and Braga — has deep roots in the ancient Celtic summer solstice celebrations, where it was customary (as it still is today) to light bonfires and leap over the flames. With the expansion of the Church, these pagan rites were gradually absorbed into a Christian framework, much like other ancestral festivities, such as the winter solstice (which evolved into what we now call Christmas), Imbolc (later Candlemas, now celebrated in Portugal as Senhora das Candeias), or Entrudo, the precursor of Carnival.

Tradition of releasing hot ballons, Oporto, Portugal. Photo by Artur Filipe dos Santos Filipe dos Santos

The festival is filled with striking customs, including gently hitting passers-by on the head with wild leeks, women brushing men’s faces with sprigs of lemon balm or verbena, and the release of hot air balloons into the night sky. These traditions have ancient roots: the leek has long symbolised male fertility (due to its phallic shape), while lemon balm represents femininity — symbolically associated, according to several scholars, with female pubic hair.

As with all human expressions, there is always an origin story. The flourishing of habits and customs — which, over time, become so deeply rooted that they seem to have existed since the dawn of time — is no exception.

Historians devoted in uncovering Oporto’s past, such as Hélder Pacheco, are unanimous in affirming the antiquity of this festival in the history of this Old Borough. There are references dating back to the 14th century to a journey undertaken by Fernão Lopes, the royal chronicler of King João I, who is said to have visited Porto on the eve of São João and recorded the grand celebration that took place in the streets in honour of the popular saint. Some even argue that the tradition is older still, pointing to a song written centuries earlier which claimed that “even the Moors of Moorish lands celebrate São João.”

It was, however, from the 20th century onwards that the festival truly gained a widespread popular character — especially when São João Day was officially declared a municipal holiday. This followed a referendum organised by the local council and promoted by the Jornal de Notícias (one of the most important and historical newspapers of the country), in which other significant dates for the city were also in the running, such as International Workers’ Day, Corpus Christi, 9th July (commemorating the 1832 entry of D. Pedro IV’s liberal army into the city), and the Feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

A plate of grilled sardines -photo by Artur Filipe dos Santos

Another popular tradition — the Feira Popular (funfair) — was also responsible for introducing the custom of eating sardines on the night of São João. Until quite recently, it was roast lamb or kid with potatoes that held pride of place on the São João table.

And while the use of the wild leek has roots in ancient fertility rites, the hammer was no accident of fate. It was the creation of António Boaventura, a well-known plastics manufacturer from Porto, who, in 1963, was challenged by university students to invent a “noisy toy” for the Queima das Fitas parade (a college students parade). Little did Boaventura know that he already had the perfect object in his workshop: a salt-and-pepper shaker he had seen on one of his trips abroad, shaped like a bellows. By adding a whistle and a handle, he transformed it into what would become the now-iconic hammer.

Martelinhos de S. João (Saint John’s plastic hammers) near Luiz I Bridge, Oporto,Portugal. Photo by Artur Filipe dos Santos.

The toy was such a success that local shopkeepers were quick to start selling it and soon linked it to the São João festivities. The association, however, was not always smooth: in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the hammer’s sale was actually banned, due to opposition from certain city councillors concerning the use of Mr Boaventura’s invention. As his grandson Manuel Marinho recounts on the blog Martelo de S. João, the case had to be taken to the Supreme Court before the noisy toy could once again hit the streets — aimed playfully at the heads of passers-by, particularly the baldest ones, eager to enjoy the ever-spectacular riverside fireworks.

But one should not think that the festival has lost its religious character. Every year, the Sé Cathedral hosts a well-attended mass in honour of Saint John, and the famous cascatas de São João still appear across the city. These are artistic displays made up of small allegorical figurines, arranged on terraced platforms, believed to have originated between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Saint John’s cascade at “Ilha do Senhor Doutor”, Fontaínhas, Oporto. Photo by Artur Filipe dos Santos

Today, these installations feature little figures of Saint John the Baptist, sardine vendors, marching bands, bagpipers, and shepherds — alongside, of course, the satirical character of the cagão, a humorous and biting social commentary. These cascatas spread across the Popular Saints’ festivals, especially in northern Portugal, and are thought to have been inspired by Neapolitan nativity scenes, which became fashionable in Portugal from the Baroque period onwards.

By simply replacing the Holy Family with the Popular Saints — voilà — the cascata de São João was born.