St. John’s Festival returns this weekend

The traditional St. John’s Festival (Arraial de São João) returns this year on the weekend of June 21 and 22, reviving local traditions and celebrating what is considered the “Day of the City” (June 24).

Held at Macau Tower’s Outdoor Plaza – the new venue for the festival since last year, following its previous location in the streets of the St. Lazarus neighborhood – the festival will continue to feature arts and crafts, food and drinks, games, music, and diverse performances by local bands and groups.

According to a press release from the organizers, the event will take place over the two days from 2:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The same organizers noted that, “St. John’s Festival is more than a celebration in honor of the popular saint – it is a community effort to preserve the tradition of commemorating the historic date of June 24, 1622, when the people of Macau resisted and defeated a Dutch expeditionary force.”

For centuries, this date has been marked as the “Day of the City of Macau.”

Since 2020, St. John’s Festival has been included in the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Macau.

The festival is organized by the Associação dos Macaenses (Macanese Association), with support from other local associations of Macanese and Portuguese heritage, such as the Associação dos Jovens Macaenses (Macanese Youth Association), Associação Promotora da Instrução dos Macaenses (Macanese Education Promoting Association), Casa de Portugal em Macau (House of Portugal in Macau), and the International Institute of Macau.

June 24 is celebrated as both the “Day of the City of Macau” and St. John the Baptist Day. The date began to be celebrated as “City Day” after June 24, 1622, when the Dutch were defeated while attempting to invade Macau.

A monument was also erected to commemorate the date in a place known as Victory Garden, located near Tap Seac Square.