{"id":1149,"date":"2020-06-17T17:37:54","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T17:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tasteporto.com\/?p=1149"},"modified":"2025-02-28T15:30:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T15:30:57","slug":"what-does-sao-joao-mean-for-a-tripeiro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tasteporto.com\/fr\/what-does-sao-joao-mean-for-a-tripeiro\/","title":{"rendered":"What does S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o mean for a Tripeiro?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you have yet to experience the heart and soul of S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o in Porto, we invite you to join in<\/a>. June is the month when Porto hosts a celebration in honor of its patron saint, S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o. This is one of the biggest parties in the city, if not in all of Portugal. What can you expect, and how can you celebrate it like a local? We asked a local Tripeiro<\/em>, our co-founder Miguel, what this time of the year means to him \u2014 so you can hear (or rather, read) about it from a local\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o in Porto mean to you?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“For me, S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o in Porto means the most equal and democratic party in the world. It’s the night when everybody forgets about age or money or class or gender and just have fun. The night for me usually starts either at my parents’ or a friend’s backyard drinking Super Bock <\/em>beer and grilling sardines or bifanas<\/em>.

The eating starts at the end of the afternoon and usually goes on until the morning, refueling when needed with caldo verde<\/em><\/a>, sardines, more beer, some wine and obviously farturas<\/em>, that fried dough deliciousness covered in powdered sugar that you can only have a couple of times a year without risking your heart health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Festas<\/figure><\/figure><\/figure><\/center>\n\n\n\n

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S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o in Porto is a communal time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the time to catch up with how the cousins are doing or what’s up in our friends’ lives. It’s the time to play with their kids or their dogs, it’s a communal time, always around food as it is any good Portuguese tradition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on where one is in Greater Porto and how far from downtown, starting at 10:30 pm the pilgrimage commences. It is best to walk downtown because many streets are closed and parking is a nightmare. The pilgrims are undertaken with your friends, “armed” with plastic hammers and smelly leek plants. The idea is to tease other people and get teased as well. Nobody likes a smelly leek in their nose and nobody likes to get hit in the head even with a plastic hammer, but the fun part is that you get to do it back to other people, from toddlers to grannies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still remember the first time my American wife experienced the party: she was a bit uneasy with this whole plastic hammer thing. That lasted a whole 5 minutes until a toddler decided to show her how it is done! \ud83d\ude42 Of course, the purpose is not to hurt, but to tease and show appreciation and that we’re all in this together. I have hit a well-known TV reporter and been caught by hundreds of other people with smiles on their faces. The tradition comes from the smelly leeks and other herbs. You will still see some people carrying these, usually older ladies, but the plastic hammer took over as it’s colorful and fun and makes a squeaky noise when bopped on someone’s head. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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