Guimarães and the Festas Nicolinas: A Student Tradition Like No Other

The first time I walked into Guimarães in early December, I expected quiet cobblestones and a chill in the air, nothing more. Instead I found the whole old town buzzing with young voices, brass instruments and the smell of chestnuts roasting on street corners. The Festas Nicolinas, held every year between 29 November and 7 December, are a tradition kept alive almost entirely by the students of Guimarães, who transform their city into a stage of noise, colour and centuries-old ritual in honour of São Nicolau, patron saint of scholars.

The heart of the celebration is the Pinheiro, a tall pine tree cut down in the surrounding hills and carried into the city on the shoulders of dozens of students. Watching the procession snake through the narrow medieval streets, torches flickering and drums pounding, it is easy to understand why locals speak of the Nicolinas with such pride. Alongside the Pinheiro comes the Dança do Pinheiro, a boisterous dance performed around the tree once it reaches its resting place, and the Posses, satirical sketches poking fun at local and national affairs that keep the whole crowd laughing late into the night.

Equally charming are the smaller rituals, like the Novenas, nightly gatherings where students sing traditional songs in the streets, moving from door to door in a way that feels closer to a living folk custom than a staged event. Then there are the Maçãzinhas, apples decorated and given as tokens of affection, a sweet gesture that softens all the shouting and drumming with something more tender. I remember buying one from a stall near the Largo da Oliveira and being told, half joking, that it would bring good luck for the year ahead.

All this unfolds against the backdrop of one of Portugal's most beautifully preserved medieval towns. Guimarães is often called the birthplace of the nation, and wandering its granite streets by day, before the evening festivities begin, you can climb up to the Castelo de Guimarães, its stark towers looking out over red rooftops, then descend to the Paço dos Duques de Bragança, a grand fifteenth century palace filled with tapestries, armour and echoes of Portuguese royalty. The contrast between this solemn history and the raucous joy of the Nicolinas is part of what makes a December visit so memorable.

If you cannot make it in winter, Guimarães has another side worth knowing about, the Festas Gualterianas in early August, a larger municipal festival with parades, markets and fireworks honouring São Gualter. But for something rawer and more intimate, tied to the rhythms of student life rather than official ceremony, nothing quite matches the Nicolinas. Bring warm clothes, patience for crowded alleys, and an appetite for chestnuts, and let the students show you their city.