Every year, on January 15, Santo Amaro is celebrated. It is a religious festival celebrated in the headquarters of the county of Santa Cruz, in honor of the saint with greater devotion by the population of Santa Cruz. The event takes place during about 4/5 days and counts on the presence of several artists, food and drink stands and lots of animation, in this event that is the first festival of the year in Madeira Island.
Tradition explains that this day of Santo Amaro closes the Christmas season in Madeira with the "sweeping of the closets", carried out by groups that are armed with the traditional and symbolic heather broom (Erica platycodon ssp. Maderincola), that go singing from home in home to receive the last delicacies that had been left over from the festive season.