Christmas in Portugal: tradition and culture

November 28, 2017

1. Christmas traditions in Portugal

December means Christmas! The whole of Portugal is gearing up with its illuminations, cultural activities and celebrations… to bring the magic of Christmas to life in Portugal!

I was pleasantly surprised to find that here, Christmas lights and decorations are unveiled a month before Santa Claus arrives, rather than in October as I’ve seen in England and France.

As I’m in Portugal, I wanted to find out how they celebrate Christmas.

2. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Portugal

Christmas Eve is called “Consoada “, and includes the meal itself and the opening of presents later on the night of December 24-25.

According to tradition, the Portuguese Christmas Eve meal is not made up of luxurious dishes or expensive products; it’s above all an opportunity to savor and share moments together with simple, but tasty dishes.

It’s well known that the Portuguese love cod, so it’s only natural that it should be cooked at Christmas. The Portuguese choose to eat it as humbly as possible: boiled with simple potatoes and boiled cabbage.

After the meal, the Portuguese head to the local church to celebrate the “Missa do Galo”, literally “the rooster’s mass”. Why the rooster? It seems that a rooster crowed on the morning of December 25, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Then, once the mass is over, it’s back home to enjoy the many desserts and open presents. Tradition has it that it’s Jesus who brings the Christmas presents, not Santa Claus as in France.

For the desserts, tradition refers to the 13 desserts as the great table of 13 Magi, and I’ll mention the most popular ones below.

3. Christmas desserts in Portugal

Bolo rei: Crown-shaped king cake, made with dried fruit and topped with crystallized fruit. Traditionally eaten on January 6, it is now eaten throughout the Christmas season

BoloRei

Arroz doce: Portuguese rice pudding is one of the country’s most popular desserts. To give it a Christmas touch, you can sprinkle a Christmas tree or star with cinnamon.

Um arroz doce com decoração de natal!

Filhós: Large doughnuts often lightly flavored with aguardente(literally “eau ardente” – brandy or Schnapps as we say in Alsace) and orange.

Filhós de natal

Rabanadas also known as fatias douradas: similar to French toast, these are slices of stale bread dipped in milk, then fried and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

“Rabanadas”, a type of Portuguese French toast

Doce de aletria: A kind of rice pudding, but with the rice replaced by vermicelli.

Doce de alteria

4. Christmas in Lisbon

Christmas lights are unveiled on December^1st in Lisbon, Porto and Faro. In Lisbon, the illuminations usually begin on December 1, with a huge fir tree set up on Praça Terreiro do Paço(Trade Square).

On the same day, Christmas markets are scheduled to open in Praça Rossio and Parc Eduardo VII(Marquês de Pombal). I invite you to read the article 20 Christmas markets in Portugal.

If you’d like to share the festivities of your villages, your Christmas markets… I invite you to share them with us by posting on the facebook group.

In conclusion

During these Christmas celebrations in Portugal, I rediscover values that are dear to my heart: simplicity, authenticity and tradition. Yet another thing that reinforces my decision to live in Portugal. So I’d like to share my view of Christmas with you, and suggest how you might prepare for it a little differently.

With this increasingly commercial celebration, we almost forget the meaning and values of this Christian religious holiday. So whether we’re believers or not, we all celebrate Christmas. So, without talking about religion, it’s good to remember the values behind this holiday. We count down the arrival of Christmas Day, thanks to an advent calendar, while enjoying chocolates. I’m not against it, I love chocolate, but what if we counted it differently?

In the spirit of Christmas, through values such as love, gratitude… If every day in December, we prepared for this day by celebrating our lives, giving thanks for the good fortune we have in being alive, and taking the time to appreciate what we have, wouldn’t that be a great way to get ready to celebrate Christmas Eve with family and friends? Ready to take up this challenge?