Each year towards the end of the academical  year the Portuguese students make a week of huge party. During this week there aren’t any lectures, no exams, only celebration. The traditions goes back to 1920 in Porto and is even older in Coimbra, the University City, it started in 1899 (after some previous festivities).
The 5-year studies are soon over and the Queima das Fitas (the burning of the stripes) symbolises the end of the academical life. So the first year student will burn his “Semente” (seed) and receives his “Grelo” a stripe that is put around his student’s folder. The 2-year-student burns his Grelo and receives the “Nabiça” (a flower of tissue). The 3-yer-student burns his Nabiça and receives 8 ribbons for his folder. Finally the 4-year student burns his ribbons and receives his “Cartola” (top hat) and Bengala (cane).
Each faculty is identified through a colour and these insignias (as we call them) are in those colours.

Porto just started it’s week of the Queima das Fitas. Yesterday being the first main moment with the Monumental Serenade, which always happens at midnight on the Saturday of May every year, during which inspired and sentimental Fados are sung. Here a film of a Serenade in Coimbra:

During the whole week there’ll be concerts and party at the Queimodromo, close to Parque da Cidade and the sea, it’s where most of the fun happens. The other main events are today, Sunday the blessing of the students folders in Avenida dos Aliados, on Tuesday the Parade where each faculty will show the car and colours, on the last Sunday the Garraiada, a kind of bull fight (or rather cow fight)  where the students fight with their bare hands the bull.

It’s a very special period in Porto as you have not only the 50000 students of the city celebrating but the whole city likes to participate too. So, come on it’s time to celebrate and remember the time you were a student. Queima das Fitas in Porto is from the 2nd to the 9th of May and in Coimbra will beginn on the 7th and go for the whole week.

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