Celebrating the annual Feast of Saint Martinho (colloquially also known as “Festival das Castanhas” in Portuguese) on November 11, this year’s event will take place at Galaxy’s Broadway Macau in Cotai this coming weekend, featuring Portuguese folk dance, Macanese delicacies including “serradura” (Macanese “sawdust pudding” listed as one of Macau’s intangible cultural heritage items) and a ceramic tile painting workshop, among other attractions.
The Feast of Saint Martinho, a traditional event held in high regard by the Macanese community in Macau and which has been added to Macau’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, commemorates the selfless act of Saint Martinho, a Catholic bishop from the 4th century renowned for his benevolence in “dividing his cloak to share with a beggar”, James Sun Ka Meng, the person in charge of the “Heart in Macau” cultural and creative brand, said yesterday, adding that since the “St. Martin’s Day” on November 11 takes place during the autumn-winter season when new wines are produced and chestnuts are harvested in Portugal, and the Portuguese celebrate the day by tasting new wines and fresh chestnuts, it has the informal name “Chestnut Festival”.
Sun, who announced the details of the Chestnut Festival at a press conference in Broadway Macau, told reporters that the two-day event is aimed at publicising and promoting Macau’s intangible cultural heritage, enabling locals and visitors alike to know and understand the unique Macanese culture.
Customarily, the term “Macanese” (“macaense”) denotes Macau’s community of mixed Portuguese and Asian extraction, as well as its diaspora and cultural, religious and culinary traditions. The community is estimated by scholar to account for about 1.5 percent of the local population.
Sun said that the event featuring a cultural and creative exhibition area will comprise more than 20 booths.
Sun also said he expected the attendance of the event to be more than the last edition’s number of 10,000 attendees. The previous edition took place in 2021.
James Sun Ka Meng, the person in charge of the “Heart in Macau” cultural and creative brand, speaks to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s press conference about the upcoming “Chestnut Festival”, at Broadway Macau in Cotai. – Photo: Yuki Lei
