The festivities begin on the evening of 12 June with the popular marches. Each freguesia (district, Lisbon is divided into freguesias which represent the city’s neighbourhoods) marches along the Avenida de la Liberdade, the city’s largest avenue. Each one has its own theme, from the choreography to the costumes to the music. A jury will name the most beautiful parade and reward the lucky neighbourhood.
The 13th of June is a holiday in Lisbon, but the rest of Portugal is busy. For Porto, you will have to wait until the end of June for the Saint John’s Day celebrations.
After a short night (for those who sleep), it is time to get ready for the St Anthony’s Day weddings! Saint Anthony was supposed to help young women find a good husband, so in 1958 the Lisbon town hall decided to celebrate 26 weddings for couples with little money. The tradition stopped in 1974 with the Revolution, but was fortunately resumed in 2004, 30 years later. Every year, for Saint Anthony’s Day, the town hall selects 16 couples. They all get married on 13 June, with great pomp and circumstance, in the Sé, Lisbon’s cathedral. These weddings are widely followed in Portugal, both on television and on the spot, where many curious people flock.
For those couples who don’t have the limelight that day, they can always treat themselves to a pot of basil and a poem by St Anthony, as is the tradition. But be careful, the basil must not be touched to preserve it as long as possible!
This is done in an atmosphere of dancing, music and above all the smell of grilled sardines…
Indeed, June marks the beginning of the sardine season in Lisbon and throughout Portugal. It officially starts on Saint Anthony’s Day, 13 June, but in reality it starts a little earlier. During this period, which runs from June to the end of September, sardines are the plumpest, fattest and most delicious! Traditionally, sardines are the fish of the poor in Portugal. In Lisbon, a popular city, this fish has a lot of meaning and is a strong symbol. On every street corner there are small (and bigger) grills to make these delicious fish crackle! I’m already starving
On the evening of 12 June, go to Avenida de la Liberdade. There you can see the best of Lisbon’s freguesias parades. They have a lot of imagination to win the title of the most beautiful procession in the city, and it’s great to see. Note that this is not the only competition that the city organises: every year, many sardine designs are in the running to be among the 5 most beautiful in the city.
After the parades, you have a choice: all the districts of the city are celebrating! The most popular are the Alfama, especially below the Santa Luzia miradouro, and also the Bica and Mouraria districts. But in general, you’ll be treated to dancing, sardines and endless wine on a night that is more than festive. Don’t forget to end your wild night with a caldo verde, a cabbage soup with bread and chorizo. The national dish for late nights.
The next day, you should not miss the Saint Anthony’s Day weddings. For this, go to the Sé, Lisbon’s cathedral, which is located in the Alfama district.
For the rest of the day, you can continue eating grilled sardines without moderation!
The whole city is filled with music, even in the metro stations. The houses and trams are decked out in their finest finery. You can’t get enough of walking through the narrow streets of the city, discovering the ingenuity of the inhabitants…
In the running to be the titular patron saint of Lisbon is Saint Anthony! This native of the Alfama district is fighting for his place with Saint Vincent. Many centuries later, the people of Lisbon have not really made up their minds, so the debate remains open… In the meantime, let us tell you the story of this saint.
Saint Anthony was born in the Alfama, as has been said, at the end of the 12th century, the exact date is not known. At the time, his name was Fernando Martins de Bulhões, a young Portuguese nobleman, destined for the priesthood. All in all, a very classic career in a Lisbon reconquered from the Moors a few decades earlier.
In 1220, however, a small group of five Franciscan monks, a brand new monastic order from Italy, was murdered with a scimitar by the king of Marrakech in Morocco. Christianity was shocked and the Prince of Portugal, Dom Pedro, who had travelled with them, had their remains recovered. They arrived in Lisbon to be venerated by the crowds. For the young Fernando, then in his twenties, this was a revelation. Admiring the courage of these five men, he took the Franciscan habit, became Brother Anthony and left immediately for Morocco.
But his health was weak and he had to be sent home. As the winds were not favourable, the boat did not head for Portugal, but for Sicily. There, he met Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscans. He then left to live in a monastery in central Italy.
One day, he replaced a monk at short notice to speak at an important mass. The audience was surprised by his oratory skills. From then on, he was sent to preach in the convents of Italy, then to the south of France, where he settled.
He then joined the Pope in Rome to advise him and finally died of exhaustion in Padua on 13 June 1232.
In addition to being venerated in Padua and Portugal, he is frequently prayed to for infertility and for finding lost objects…
For the record, Saint Anthony, on his arrival in Brive in central France, had a book stolen that was very important to him. According to the legend, he began to pray for his property to be returned to him. It was then that a young monk, all sheepish, knocked on his door to give it back to him. From that moment on, Saint Anthony is frequently invoked to find lost objects with the famous phrase: « Saint Anthony of Padua, great thief, great trickster, return what is not yours!
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