Washing of Bonfim
15 January 2026 · movable holiday — In white, with flowers and scented water — for faith and good wishes!
The Washing of Bonfim (Lavagem do Bonfim) is one of the best-loved festivals in Salvador, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It takes place in January, on the Thursday before the second Sunday after Epiphany, and opens the celebrations in honour of the Lord of Bonfim (the Good End). Thousands of people dressed in white walk in procession from the Church of Conceição da Praia to the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, roughly eight kilometres away. There the baianas, women of Bahia in traditional white dresses, wash the steps and the churchyard with scented water and flowers. The festival shows how Catholic faith and Afro-Brazilian traditions intertwine: in Candomblé (an Afro-Brazilian religion) the custom is linked with reverence for Oxalá. For many, it is a symbol of faith and peaceful coexistence. Its date follows the Epiphany calendar, early in the year, which in the Southern Hemisphere means high summer, with warm, clear evening skies over Salvador.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure made of luminous dots and thin lines, like a constellation drifting across the sky: a woman in a wide white skirt and turban, carrying a vase on her head with ribbons trailing as faint star-lines
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