Feast of Saint Sebastian

The Feast of Saint Sebastian in Sendim is a religious and community celebration deeply tied to the town’s identity and traditions. In honour of the saint, the Pauliteiros de Sendim have revived their part in the festivities, performing the ritual dances that for generations belonged to this moment.

Saint Sebastian is especially important to Sendim as patron of the Sendim Volunteer Fire Brigade, linking the feast to the community and the brigade’s history. The saint is traditionally venerated as a protector against plague and disease, a devotion tied to rural communities’ old concerns for the health of people and animals.

The pauliteiros take part in the collection through the streets, the procession, the dances and the traditional Dança do Alqueire. In the past, families offered produce such as wheat, fruit and cured meats during the collection, later auctioned to help pay for the feast.

After decades without this tradition, the pauliteiros of Sendim returned to the Saint Sebastian collection in 2024, for the first time since 1985 — part of the effort to bring the Ritual Dances of the Pauliteiros de Miranda back into traditional feasts, strengthening the bond between dance, community, popular faith and the collective memory of Sendim.