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One of the most emblematic and oldest religious events in the municipality of Tondela will take place again in Guardão on the 11th of May
Photographer: Câmara de Tondela
The Festa das Cruzes, one of the most emblematic and oldest religious events in the municipality of Tondela, will take place again in Guardão on May 11th, a Saturday.
The religious event has been taking place for over 300 years, joining the parishes of Guardão to those of Santiago de Besteiros, Santa Eulália (Campo de Besteiros) and Castelões. The event, which used to take place on Ascension Thursday (40 days after Easter), will take place again on the following Saturday so that more people can participate.
In this celebration, the villages climb the Serra do Caramulo to fulfill the promise of thanks to Our Lady of Miracles for her help in expelling the Moors.
The festive program starts next Thursday (9th), at 7am, with a dawn. At 10pm, the entertainment is provided by keyboardist Luís Simões. Next Friday (10th), Noite da Capucha will take place, with DJ Tiago Monteiro and a toast for those who present themselves with the traditional product.
On Saturday, the biggest day of the party, the program starts at 7 am with a dawn. At 8:30 am, the parade takes place between Caramulo and Guardão with the Sociedade Filarmónica Tondelense. The arrival of the processions from Santiago de Besteiros, Santa Eulália and Castelões is scheduled for 10 am, followed by the embrace of the crosses with the Parish of Guardão. The open-air mass, with the blessing of the fields and procession, starts at 11:30 am.
During Saturday afternoon there will be entertainment, starting at 3pm, with the ranches of Santiago de Besteiros and Castelões, followed by performances by Feel the Rhythm and Ruizinho de Penacova. The party ends after 10pm, with the band Tz Music and Pedro Cruz.
The main attraction of the festival are the crosses decorated with precious metals, garlands, plant motifs, flowers or seasonal fruits. To the sound of litanies, the faithful follow the same ancestral route from the Chapel of São Bartolomeu to Guardão to embrace their crosses with those of the host parish, under a shower of flower petals.
“The singularity of this demonstration lies in the moment when the crosses touch each other, two by two, repeating the embrace of the time of memory, in which the people embraced each other for having managed, with divine help, to expel the Moors”, explains the Chamber of Tondela in a statement.
The ritual ceremony takes place at the meeting point, a place on the sidewalk already worn out by the repetition of this tradition over the centuries next to the Church of Guardão. After the embrace, a Eucharist takes place that culminates in a large parade in which crosses from the four parishes and hundreds of pilgrims take part.
