Message #121270

[dhill757]

Azorean Festivals

The Azores are quite famous for their annual festivals or  "festas."
The festa honors some patron saint, such as St. Peter or St. Anthony.
Some festas focus on the Virgin Mary and Jesus. These celebrations
originated from promises made by Azoreans in times of need or
because of miracles. For example, the Festival of the Lord of Holy
Christ of Miracles is celebrated at Ponta Delgada each spring. A statue
of a suffering Christ is paraded and honored because it is believed
that this particular image caused a miracle in the 17th century. 

The Festival of Our Lady of Miracles is celebrated at Terceira
because of a promise from the people asking the Holy Mother to
deliver them from an invasion by the Spanish in the 17th century.
The Festival of the Holy Spirit is the most common festa. It
commemorates the feeding of the poor by St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
There is a coronation, a procession, and a feast for everyone.165