Celebration - Festas Juninas

Festas Juninas

The Festas Juninas are festivities that take place in June in Brazil and are extremely popular throughout the country and among all social classes. Originally called joanina from São João, they celebrate the Catholic Saints:

Santo Antônio – Saint Anthony – 13th June 
São João – Saint John – 24th June 
São Pedro – Saint Peter – 29th June 

The church fair, usually with a charity bazaar, is called a quermesse. The festivities also celebrate rural life and feature typical dress, food and dance. They usually take place in a large open space outdoors called an arraial and people dress up as farmers, or country folk (caipira) with straw hats and checked shirts or dresses. São João celebrates marriage, so couples dance a kind of square dance called a quadrilha which features a mock wedding with the bride and groom. June is the time of the corn harvest, so special dishes are prepared made with corn. Canjica is made from grated corn and coconut, boiled with water, milk, sugar and cinnamon. Pamonha is a sweet concoction of corn paste which is rolled and baked in fresh cornhusks. Pinhão, an edible pine seed is also very popular. A typical drink is the quentão. As the name suggests, this is a hot alcoholic drink with ginger and usually cachaça – a kind of rum made from sugar cane and commonly known as pinga.

Bonfires and firework displays are also important features of these colourful two-week celebrations.

Now practice explaining these portuguese words to your partner(s):

QUERMESSE - ARRAIAL - CAIPIRA

QUADRILHA - PAMONHA - PINHÃO - PINGA

QUENTÃO - CACHAÇA

Then...

CANJICA - CURAL - PÉ DE MOLEQUE - FORRÓ