The city of Funchal pays homage to its Patron, St James the Less, every year on the 1st of May. The Old Town of Funchal and particularly Santa Maria Street and Corpo Santo Square experience a special kind of revelry, in a party depicting a typical Madeira arraial.

St James the Less is the Patron Saint and the Health Guardian of Funchal. Since 1538, when authorities handed over the guard of the city’s inhabitants health to St James the Less, there has been the upholding of the tradition of honouring the saint with the Voto da Cidade Procession, which parades through the streets of Funchal's Old Town up to Socorro Church.

Together with this event, a popular festivity also takes place throughout the Old Town: Corpo Santo Square, Santa Maria Street and the surrounding areas are particularly bedecked for this calebration which brings to special animation to this location lasting 4 days.

Source: Madeira Tourism Board

Madeira Flower Festival Parade which was supposed to be held on Sunday afternoon but was postponed due to rain showers, took place on Monday on a lucky and dry 2 hours and a half - from 2pm to 4:30 pm. Rain has stopped to assist to the colorful and child enthusiastic parade. Just after last group got to the finish place it started to rain and forecasts say it will get worst...

Madeira always has a bit of luck in what regards to weather during its main touristy events!

Christmas has just passed and Carnival is already knocking at the door... Carnival festivities are being prepared for some months already as decorations and costumes making of take a lot of time.

As usual Carnival starts in Santana with the "Festa dos Compadres" (buddy's festivity) where actors make fun of social and political affairs. This funny festivity this year is on the last weekend of January.

A week after, on Saturday night the main Carnival Parade takes place on Funchal streets where hundreds of dancers and a few floats take part. At the end there is a public ball at Praça do Município where everyone can feel the heat of Madeira Carnival, dancing by the sound of Brazilian music.

On the afternoon of Sunday and of Shrove Tuesday several trickster parades take place all over the island with the edge taking place in Funchal where once again hundreds of persons disguised make caricatures of politicians and its decisions.

On Friday 1st February through all over the Island children will have their Carnival party at school and so it is common to see several princess and warriors walking around.

Since Friday night, before Shrove Tuesday, bars and discos have a theme for each night and so most of its customers disguise according to that theme... Usually Friday night is the "travesty night" and there is also a "flower power" night between others.

Some hotels also have their Carnival ball dance on Saturday night.

Madeira Dig 2007 - the Digital Arts Festival of Madeira, is being held at Casa das Mudas Arts Centre, in Calheta from today to the 9th of December.

This fourth edition is going to have important names on the music and experimental multimedia world, such as the group “Boiar”, composed by Paulo Camacho and José Soares, “Alog”, a Norwegian duet, “NNY” the key project of a Madeira artist - Jerome Faria, a duet with Vítor Joaquim and Laetittia Morais, the Finnish artist Mika Vainio and last but not least Ran Slavin from Israel.

This year, the video exhibition is a special tribute to the famous video artist Nam June Paik, showing some of this artist’s most important video works each day, namely "A tribute to John Cage", "Merce by Merce", "Global Groove", "Mediashuttle: Moscow / New York" and "Bye bye kipling"

Here is the programme for this long and special weekend:

Friday, 7th December

At 9,30 pm - BOIAR

At 10,30 pm - ALOG

Saturday, 8th December

At 10,30 pm - VITOR JOAQUIM + LAETITIA MORAIS

At 11,30 pm - MIKKA VAINIO

Sunday, 9th December

At 5,30 pm - RAN SLAVIN

In Estalagem Quinta da Rochinha, in Ponta do Sol there will be afterhours performances by Hugo Olim, Jerome, Ran Slavin, Joao Ricardo and other artists at the festival

Source: Madeiradig.net

Madeira is already experiencing the Christmas feeling on its streets, specially downtown Funchal.

Christmas illuminations have lighten up on the 23rd of November 2007 and each day more decorations are being put on until the 30th of November. On the 1st of December everything will be already prepared to celebrate Christmas in Madeira, traditionally called "A FESTA" which means "The feast".

In the past Christmas was the only big celebration which all Madeira people joined, this is why it is called "A Festa" as there were no other celebration like this one. It would start early in December with the pig's killing, then people would build the traditional Christmas scene on their homes and parishes and, on the 16th of December, the childhood masses "Missas do Parto" in portuguese, would wake up everyone very early to join processions towards the church.

These are some traditions that one might still see on Madeira rural areas. The Feast would last until the 6th of January, the Epiphany's Day.