Wherever they are, in Portugal or around the world, there are many Sambrasenses who insist on returning to the land on Easter weekend, making a torch of flowers and joining the biggest annual cultural expression of this county, the secular Procession of Hallelujah, the Feast of the Florida Torches of São Brás.
This Easter Sunday, the procession will depart from the churchyard of the Igreja Matriz in São Brás at 11 am, preceded by a mass at 10 am. In the afternoon, from 14 pm, there will be the traditional Easter Cultural Afternoon, at Museu do Trajo, which combines handcrafted products with musical entertainment and, this year, the live broadcast of the television program «Somos Portugal TVI».
The preparation of the Hallelujah Festival is a community task that involves hundreds or even thousands of people, whether in collecting the many flowers, leaves and aromatic herbs needed to make the rugs that give the color and smell that characterize the event, 
either in the execution of the decorations and in their maintenance. Men are also dedicated to building individual flower torches, a task they take on with pride and a lot of creativity.
During Holy Week, those traveling through São Brás de Alportel feel a latent energy, a feeling of anticipation, which can be seen in the colored banners and banners that are installed in the streets where the procession passes. A sort of pre-notice for a party and also a shadow of what the Hallelujah Procession will be.
The enthusiasm and visible pride with which the vice-president of São Brás de Alportel de Alportel Vítor Guerreiro describes the festival is, in itself, an indication of the importance that the natives of São Brás give to the procession of the Hallelujah.
Not only for what it means culturally and historically at a local level, but also because it is an event that attracts many outsiders, for its originality and beauty.
«A Sambrasan lives Easter Sunday intensely. In my earliest memories, I perfectly remember picking the flowers that were in the garden, in the neighbors' garden and coming to sing the Hallelujah», recalled Vítor Guerreiro in a conversation with the Sul Informação.
“This is a procession in which men participate, where we take great pride in showing something that is ours, that is genuine and part of our cultural and ethnographic heritage. This is something unique, there is nothing like it in the country», he explained.
This masculine facet of the party is essentially linked to the torches held during the procession. The women are not left out, neither in the procession, nor in the preparation of decorations, and they even help with the execution of the torches. “My mother has always helped me make the torch,” revealed Vítor Guerreiro.
«The entire community in Sambras ends up getting involved during the week, to pick the flowers that are used to make the runners and cut the vegetables on Friday and Saturday. At dawn on Sunday, there are many who will help to put the flower runners on,” said the mayor.
Much of this work goes through the Parish House of São Brás, located next to the Parish Church of São Brás de Alportel, from where the procession starts and goes. The parish's prior, this year Father Afonso replacing his brother Father Cunha, takes the lead in the celebration, while the manager of the Parish House Carmen Baltasar takes on the logistical part of preparing the procession.
“This is a lot of work. A lot of people have to help, otherwise they won't go forward», he guaranteed. The work starts at the beginning of the week, but "from Thursday it has to speed up, otherwise we won't do the job," he explained.
“This is a feast not only of colors, but also of smells”, he says, while releasing the scent of the rosemary flowers accumulated inside a container, with a gentle gesture of his hand.
“Here we grind the vegetables, rosemary, fennel, rosemary. These plants smell great on the streets. They are used to place on the sides of the treadmills», he said. On Maundy Thursday, the flowers are still stored "in the greenhouse", waiting for Sunday morning, when they will be placed on the floor with the help of wooden moulds. “This is all very beautiful!” he said.
Tradition remains alive among Sambrasenses, even those who live farther away
Tradition passes from generation to generation and is, in a way, a hallmark of the people of Sambras, even those who left the county, the region or even the country, who keep it very much alive and pass it on to their children.
«Almost all the people from Sambras around the country and even around the world – France, United States, Canada – usually come to spend their Easter holidays here. Some only come here at this time. There is also a large community in the city of Alhos Vedros, Montijo and Almada. Even the youngest, despite not living here, keep the tradition», he said.
This is a religious festival, but also a manifestation of a popular nature. «There is an interesting detail, which is the clearing of the voice, which is done with arbutus. Men usually carry a small bottle inside their suit and from time to time they drink a sip of arbutus from here in the mountains. This is done as a ritual", a part of the festival that "the Prior does not like very much", but which ends up tolerating this practice.
During the procession, the men sing: “He is risen as he said! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!”
This extraordinary influx of non-resident children of the land and visitors even led to what, for any Sambrasan, is the Festa da Aleluia – “men, it is said around here, gather to sing the Hallelujah” – has won. a second name, the Festa das Torchas Floridas, as it is better known outside the county.
“For the sake of tourist poster, this name of the Florida Torches was a designation that we found a few years ago”, he revealed.
Wildflowers and marigolds for the rugs, almond roses for the torches
And where do so many flowers come from? “We have people picking flowers all week. Those on vacation will pick them up, there are associations that organize themselves to do so. The organizing committee is made up of the Parish, the Chamber of São Brás and the Associação Cultural Sambrasense. But collectivities such as Motoclube and firefighters also organize groups to collect flowers», revealed Vitor Guerreiro.
City workers provide valuable help in collecting what is needed, in particular what is not so easy to find. In 2013, for example, there is a shortage of palm leaves, but the municipality is already looking outside the municipality for alternatives to ensure that the arrangements that flank the procession comply with tradition.
“In recent years, the City Council has also made a contribution by mobilizing school assistants, as it is a time when there are no classes and we form two groups, in two vans, which have been picking flowers since Monday. They are wild flowers, essentially marigolds», he said.
These are the flowers used on the crosswalks, the jars being reserved for the arrangements of the posts that flank the procession. To make the torches, it is customary to use the flowers that are at home or nearby, but there is a species that everyone wants to have, but it is not always easy to find.
«The albardeira roses? They are rare! They are for the torches, not the streets. Saturday I have to go to some places I know to find them. It's a secret», said Vítor Guerreiro, laughing. «These are very beautiful flowers, which grow in the middle of the forest, often close to the carob trees. Each one has their place to find them», he said.
There are also many people who offer bunches of flowers, normally used in the arrangement of the Church itself, which receives the Mass before the procession.
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