Cookies falling from the sky in Aveiro, Portugal

January 4, 2020

Portugal is a country with many traditions. Some are more original than others, like this tradition in Aveiro, Portugal, which I’m going to tell you about today and which takes place in just a few days’ time(from January 9 to January 13, 2020).

Every year, around January 10, the day of São Gonçalo de Amarante, the inhabitants of the small town ofAveiro in Portugal eagerly prepare to honor their patron saint, whom they affectionately call “São Gonçalinho”(in Portuguese, the suffix “inho” is affective ).

To mark the occasion, an original ritual takes place in Aveiro, Portugal. Cavacas”, the dried Portuguese cookies I mentioned in a previous article(link here), are the main players in this celebration.

The famous cavacas (photo credit: portugal.com)

These cookies, made from egg whites, flour and sugar, are thrown from the top of the São Goncalinho chapel in the Beira mar district of Aveiro, Portugal. Many people flock to the top of the chapel to make vows and promises to São Goncalinho by throwing cavacas.

Cavacas thrown from the top of the São Gonçalinho chapel (photo credit: Maria João Gala)

Dozens of cavacas begin to fly through the air to the sound of the chapel’s bells. In the square below, hundreds of people try to catch the cavacas with upturned umbrellas and landing nets. An unusual and amusing spectacle! Catching them would bring good luck.

Catching cavacas with umbrellas and landing nets (photo credit: noticiasdeaveiro.pt and terranova.pt)

However, this fun “game” can be a little dangerous if you get a few cookies on the head. For the cavacas that are commonly seen as small, round and quite soft are, for the holidays, larger, oval and quite hard … so yes, it can make a little dent if you land them wrong.

5kg bags of cavacas are for sale, to be thrown from the top of the chapel (on the right in the photo). For those with a sweet tooth, there are also small cavacas for immediate consumption.

São Gonçalinho regulars protect themselves from the projectiles, and some even wear helmets. This ritual of throwing cavacas from the top of the chapel is said to be linked to a tradition from the time when São Gonçalinho threw bread to the poor from the top of the chapel.

Some people protect themselves from the cookies that fall from the top of the chapel. (photo credit: Paulo Azevedo)

Two other rituals are performed inside the chapel during the São Gonçalinho festivities:

the presentation of the bouquet (entrega do ramo): a bouquet of artificial flowers, kept for years and given each year to the butlers who will look after the festivities the following year,
the dance of the lame (dança dos mancos): performed by a group of men who pretend to be lame, and dance to the sound of popular songs.

Presentation of the bouquet (photo credit: Francisco Ferreira)

This year’s festival in Aveiro, Portugal, will take place from Thursday, January 9, 2020 to Sunday, January 13, 2020. Find out more about the event here.