If you’ve never been hit on the head with a plastic hammer by a complete stranger, June in Porto might just change that.
June 24th is Dia de São JoãoSt. John's Day , the second of the Santos PopularesPopular Saints’ festivals, and Porto takes it pretty seriously. The night before, the whole city centre closes to traffic and hundreds of thousands of people spill into the streets to cheerfully bop everyone around them with small squeaky martelos de plásticoplastic hammers .
The martelinholittle hammer replaced an older tradition of hitting people with alho-porroflowering wild leek . Nobody knows why hitting people became part of São João, but they say it brings good luck to the person you bop, giving the whole night a generous spirit despite all the chaos.
Falling close to the summer solstice, the festival has deep roots in pagan midsummer rituals that predate the Catholic calendar. Jumping over a fogueirabonfire an odd number of times is said to protect you from misfortune for the coming year. These fogueiras are set up in streets and squares across Porto and Braga, and they’re hard to miss.
Just like Dia de Santo António, sardinhassardines are everywhere. Grilled on open charcoal braziers, served on bread or broaa type of Portuguese cornbread , they’re eaten standing in the street, along with caldo verde and plenty of o vinho verdegreen wine, from the Minho region .
The night sky is a scene of its own: hundreds of glowing balões de São Joãolarge paper air balloons are released to drift above the city, joined by dazzling midnight fireworks over the Douro river.