OPO - Festa de São João

The São João party at the Gaia river in Oporto was one of most beautiful celebrations that I saw. The hundreds of fire balloons at the sky makes this city even more magical. Happy people on the street dancing and being silly with a hammer bumping in each other’s head make the things funnier. At midnight fireworks everywhere!loved 🥰

“São João festival originated has a pagan festivity back in the 14th century as a celebration and thanks to the sun god for a good harvest and abundance. It was later christianised as a celebration to São João by the Church, but many of the pagan customs persist even to this day, like the usage of wild leek, basil and the bonfires.
All in all, in its many incarnations, this festival has been celebrated in Porto for about 700 years and it is truly part of the city’s identity.”Read more