Feast of St John the Baptist ♥

Feast of St John the Baptist 

Feast of St John the Baptist 

The Feast of St John the Baptist is a feast of lights.It is celebrated on the 23rd June,every year. In each house and home in the Portuguese Settlement and Praya lane,rows of candles are lit around the houses making the  whole neighborhood a wonder land of lights,and glow in the brightness.This is the eve of the feast of St John the Baptist. This traditional festival has been celebrated by the Malaysian Portuguese for the past 500 years..Over the past decade or so,it has been over shadowed by the Feast Of Sts.Peter and Paul,better known as Festa San Pedro.It is usually a 3 day carnival with food fair and Portuguese cultural dance and music. It is a special day for the children. As a tradition, for every one both young and old to be dressed in green on that day.The colour green symbolizes purity and innocence. While candles are here in Malacca,in Portugal,however,bonfires are lit in village squares and at road junctions. Legend has it that St. John,was supposed to have lit bonfires when he went from village to village.It is also said that St John the Baptist was known as the 'matchmaker' and so unmarried maidens in Portugal considered the festival as an auspicious one.

Feast of St John the Baptist