When I saw Portugal Adventures’s post “Friday 13th: The day the Demons celebrated in Montalegre,” I was instantly intrigued. What is that all about?
Well, turns out Montalegre is located in northern Portugal, near the border with Spain, and it is the place to celebrate Friday the 13th. Or Sexta 13 as they call it.
Celebrate? Say what?
Yes. They throw a big ol’ party.
Every Friday the 13th is like Halloween in Montalegre, with a celebration where people dress up in scary costumes and party in the streets.
At the end of this post is a video showing the frivolity and frightening costumes, music, performances…there’s even fireworks!
The event invites people to face their demons –and witches, elves, and other cursed beings. That’s partly why it’s also known as Witches’ Night.
It’s okay because the priest will make the traditional queimada, an alcoholic drink said to have the power to clear all evil from the body. (Not to be confused with Brazil’s Ilha da Queimada Grande, a.k.a. Snake Island, which is considered dangerous because it has the highest concentration of venomous snakes in the world. Now that sounds spooky!)
Although, the queimada drink sounds dangerous too. It mixes alcohol with fire in a cauldron, making it quite the fiery, devil-be-gone elixir.
But why does Montalegre celebrate Friday the 13th so passionately?
Apparently it’s located in the Trás-os-Montes region, which is steeped in Celtic lore and myths and is a big part of the area’s culture.
A Catholic priest named Father Fontes is credited as helping to put Montalegre on the map. According to Fora da Rota, Father Fontes “has dedicated his life to the study of alternative medicine and pagan cults.”
The celebrations culminate with Father Fontes appearing, making the queimada, and exorcising the witches and evil spirits, thus restoring peace to the land and its inhabitants.
Sounds like a blast. And from the photos I’ve come across online of Montalegre, it looks like quite the picturesque place.
But of course now I’m wondering if its castle is haunted. Would love to jaunt there and find out first hand!
The Video
Where’s the spookiest place you’ve ever spent a Friday the 13th?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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