Maias’s Legend

Camp of gorse (maias).

In Portugal there is a tradition of placing branches / crowns with gorse (yellow flowers) in the locks of the doors and windows of homes during the night of April 30th to May 1st. 

According to legend, known as the "Lenda Das Maias", this was used by Jews to identify the house where Jesus Christ, still a baby, and his family spent the night, when they tried to escape death decreed by Herod. In the next morning,inexplicably, all the doors at that location had a bunch of Maias in their locks, making it impossible to  the soldiers of Herod to identify where Jesus was. According to this legend is born a old ritual that we can still find all over the country but mainly in the northern localities. They also say that putting gorse (known in many places  by Maias, due to blooming usually in May) on the doors locks and windows defends the house and prevents all evil that try to invade the house.  
In northern Portugal, there is an old game. Parents of unmarried girls put  crowns on the highest point of the house so boys can steal them overnight. Those who managed to have a chance of getting the crowns, can have the girl, they fail when are caught by the parents.

Door adorned with gorse.