The Viana do Castelo Pilgrimages traditionally begin in May with this Festa in Vila Franca, which always takes place on the weekend of the 2nd Sunday of May. The highlight is the parade of Flower Baskets, made with stems, leaves, buds and petals of natural flowers carried on the heads by the butlers, to offer to Our Lady of the Rosary. During the festival, the already traditional folklore festival takes place, which has hosted national and international groups, passing through this festival an immense diversity of costumes, uses and customs that enhance this already grand festival. Also, over all these years, several dozen philharmonic bands, both national and international, have passed. As in all the traditional festivals of Minho, in Vila Franca we also find saleswomen, confectioners, the famous food and drink “tascas”, entertainment for all ages, among many other attractions, which make the Festa das Rosas the highest in this parish.
Devotion to Senhora do Rosário, the main festival in Vila Franca, dates back to 1622, the year in which the Confraria de Nossa Senhora do Rosário was founded by Friar Bartolomeu, a member of the Order of the Benedictines.
At the time of its creation, it was established in the statutes of the Brotherhood that, on the feast day of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, the butlers, who were chosen from among the richest families in the land, would have to offer the Lady a bunch of flowers. If they did not do so, they would be fined the equivalent of an arrátel (about four hundred and fifty grams) of wax.
In order to fulfill the promise and also not to be subjected to the shame of having to pay the fine, the butlers began to offer simple bunches of flowers, as time went by, out of vanity and competition between them, it began to be followed a path that led to the creation of the true works of art that are now offered to the Lady. So after the branches, baskets began to be used, then flowers began to be shaped and years later the first flower designs began to appear. At that time, basket frames did not yet exist; they appeared around the 1930s. Currently, the offering of baskets to Nossa Senhora do Rosário is surrounded by a grandiose and mediatic festival that has already crossed national borders.
Source: https://www.cm-viana-castelo.pt/visitar/turismo-e-lazer/festas-e-romarias/