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When you hear about “Festa Junina”, what comes to mind? For me, it´s a cowboy hat, boots, a bonfire, country music, and a lot of food. But I must say, that´s not how it used to be in the very beginning.
The birth of “Festa Junina”
The traditional Brazilian celebration comes from Europe when the peasants gathered around between spring and summer to prevent plagues in the harvest season. At first, it wasn’t related to anything religious, but as Christianity began to spread around Europe, the party was incorporated into the Catholic calendar, maintaining some of the traditions and including others to make it more religious. It was used to celebrate saints, like St Anthony and St John. Actually, at first, it was baptized as “Festa Joanina”, as a tribute to St John, but later it came to be called “Festa Junina”, because of the month that it occurs, which is June.
How did “Festa Junina” end up in Brazil?
During the sixteenth century the Portuguese came to America, and with them, so did a lot of the European traditions. Then, during the colonization, the “Festa Junina” was included in the Brazilian celebrations, starting to have its history in the country. Its popularity grew in the country´s Northeast, where it turned out to become a significant part of the local culture.
The “Festa Junina” and its features
We all know that with the “Festa Junina” comes a lot of typical manners, such as the food. But where does this tradition come from? Well, back to the beginning, in Europe, there used to be plenty of corn and wheat plantations around that time of the year, so they used a lot of these ingredients to cook, then, they became a central part of the party. When this celebration joined our country, they started to use condiments that were abundant here as well, like peanut, cinnamon, and coconut, giving rise to the dishes we know today such as “canjica”, “cocada”…
Another custom is the “quadrilha”, a paired-up dance that comes from a merge between the ballroom dance, very popular in France in the seventeenth century, and our local culture from the nineteenth century. At present, the “quadrilha” has a waggish character.
As time goes by, the games that once were very popular at this celebration, tend to disappear. When it was founded, the “Festa Junina” used to have all kinds of hobbies, like cheeky mail, fishing, jail, and so many others. But now, even though they still exist, they don’t take part in all the parties anymore.
The “Festa Junina” nowadays
Recently, the “Festa Junina’s” religious character got kind of lost. Today, it is more of a popular gathering than a catholic tradition. In Portugal, they still celebrate it, usually outdoors, around the smell of roasted sardine, a very typical dish in the summer in Europe. They also exchange pots of basel between couples, and that custom inspired our cheeky mail, very popular today.
Because of the pandemic, the “Festa Junina” was suspended for a couple of years, but now they are coming back, so let´s grab our plaid shirts and enjoy!
The article above was edited by Lorena Lindenberg. Liked this type of content? Check out Her Campus Cásper Líbero for more!