Events Folk celebrations in the state take place throughout the year, especially during the summer months, from December to March.
One of the most noteworthy festivals is the Procession of Senhor do Bonfim. The masses wearing white in honor of Oxalá, the father of all the orixás, parade through the Lower City to the Bonfim Church, where Bahian women in traditional dresses bless those present by showering them with lavender water and perform the traditional "washing of steps", in a ritual of faith and hope.
Another highlight is the Yemanjá Festival on the 2nd of Februar, when the faithful pay homage to the Goddess of the Sea. It's an impressive expression of faith of the "Mother of the Waters".
The high point of all the celebrations in Bahia, the largest festival in the world in terms of the number of participants, is without doubt Carnival in Salvador. The festival is a weeklong delirium of the masses that ends on the morning of Ash Wedneysday. |