🎁 The Hidden Story Behind São João: Porto’s Festival of Joy, Jokes and Firelight

Every June 23rd, Porto throws a party like no other. It’s loud. It’s wild. It smells like grilled sardines, sounds like laughter, and feels like someone gently hitting you on the head with… a plastic hammer.

Yes - plastic hammers.
And it all makes perfect sense once you’re here.

The Curious Tale of the Plastic Hammer
While São João dates back centuries - rooted in both pagan solstice rituals and Catholic devotion to Saint John - the plastic hammer is a much more recent twist.

In the 1970s, a local toy shop owner, Manuel António Boaventura, took inspiration from a salt shaker he saw abroad. He turned it into a colourful, squeaky hammer. It was quirky and playful, and Porto’s students embraced it immediately, swapping out traditional leeks and garlic flowers used in flirty bops for these funny new toys.

Today, it’s impossible to imagine São João without the joyful toc toc of hammers in the night.

The Festival of Fire, Flavour, and Folklore
The whole city takes to the streets:

🔥 Jumping over bonfires to chase away bad luck
🎈 Releasing hot air balloons that float wishes into the sky
🎶 Dancing on the riverfront until sunrise
🌿 Gifting manjerico (basil plants) with love poems tucked inside
🐟 Eating grilled sardines and roasted peppers with wine in hand

And this year? Porto is taking the celebration even higher - literally. The city has set a record budget of €250,000 for the midnight fireworks show. It promises to be the most dazzling display in São João history.

🎁 Bring São João Home
We’ve captured the soul of São João in a beautifully curated gift box. Whether you’ve danced by the Douro before or just dream of it, this box brings the festival to you:

✔️ Specialty coffee drip bags to keep the night going
✔️ Chocolate sardines a sweet twist on a beloved symbol
✔️ Tinned sardines a taste of true Portuguese flavour
✔️ Handmade rosemary (alecrim) soap evoking the herbs of the season

All wrapped and ready to bring joy, surprise, and a bit of Porto's summer magic into someone’s home.

Give a gift that smells like rosemary, tastes like sardines and chocolate, and sounds like squeaky laughter under the fireworks.
Because São João isn’t just a festival. It’s a feeling.