' … an intense period of festivals in the northeast, when the people celebrate Saint Anthony (the matchmaker) on the 13th, St. John the Baptist on the 24th, and St. Peter (guardian of heaven’s gate) on the 29th. In the community where John the Baptist’s parents lived, it was the custom to make a bonfire every time someone was born. In this way, all the families, even the distant ones, knew of the event and could head for the bonfire to celebrate the birth of another child of the community. To celebrate St. John’s feastday is a way of keeping this tradition alive. It is a time of much joy and the strong presence of popular culture, with folk and square-dancing, country-weddings, fruit liqueurs, and regional food like canjica (grated corn, sugar, coconut milk and cinnamon), pamonha (corn-paste wrapped in husks), corn-on-the cob, and roasted peanuts' (Calendário Histórico dos Trabalhadores. São Paulo: MST, Setor de Educação. 3a. edição, 1999, p. 49).