MASS MARRIAGE IN LISBON

 

As part of the celebrations for Saint Anthony (the patron saint of weddings) there is a mass wedding on every June 12.  This is a tradition that dates back from the fascism time and, after a few years of interruption following the Revolution that put an end to the dictatorship, since the begining of this century it has been reborn.  Portuguese-state owned television network always features live coverage of the event. This year, there were only 12 couples... perhaps because of the economic crisis. Normally, they are about 20. I don’t know how the pairs are selected but they are all unfavoured people who benefit from a wedding they could not ever afford: the clothing, shoes, hairdo, wedding party and honeymoon are all on the account of sponsors that are companies popular among Portuguese consumers. Strangely the wedding of the 'lucky' couples occurs in the Cathedral and not in the nearby church dedicated to Saint Anthony.

I walked down the hilly Alfama. As  I reached the Cathedral there was quite a crowd of people waiting for the newlyweds emerging from it. After greeting the crowd and the picture session, they walked down the street up to the monument of St. Anthony at the foot of which they lit a candle.

From there, they continued their walk to a street in the downtown where vintage cars were lined up. Each couple was ushered into the respective car and off they went to... I don’t know... most probably, the mass wedding party... Their relatives were transported on Lisbon tuk tuks.

I wonder what it would mean to me if I had ever married like that... Impossible to figure out... I think I would never never accept it... What about you?