Portuguese Christmas Season Christmas Eve and Day Christmas

Portuguese Christmas Season

Christmas Eve and Day Christmas in Portugal is a grand event and is celebrated on the basis of Catholicism; most of Portuguese are Catholic. Eating Bolo Rei, the traditional Christmas cake, and setting up the Nativity Scene, are Portuguese strong traditions. Are you questioning “what makes Christmas in Portugal so different from others? ”. There is a lot more than just shopping and lights. Special Christmas traditions, like the Christmas Feast of the Imaculada Conceição, are particular to the holiday season in this wonderful nation. In Portugal, the tradition of gift-giving was also defined by the strong Catholic people’s beliefs: on the night of 24 th Santa delivers gifts to the children. Would you like to learn how to say Merry Christmas in Portuguese? Feliz Natal!

Christmas Eve’s Dinner • The Christmas Eve´s dinner, called Consoada, consists mostly of boiled codfish with potatoes and cabbage. Desserts have always been essential to Christmas festivities, and in Portugal, the desserts are usually fried. The dinner (consoada) is not complete without the traditional Christmas cake, known as Bolo Rei, which is a cake filled with dried and crystalized fruit. In the past this cake used to have two surprises - a decoration and a broad bean. While the people who found the decoration were happy, as they got a present, the ones who got the beans were not so fortunate, as it meant they had to pay for the next cake. • At midnight people usually go to church to attend the Midnight Mass.

Traditional Portuguese Sweets At Christmas, Portuguese people eat filhós, sonhos and rabanadas (the last ones are known as French toasts).

Traditional Portuguese Sweets There are some other Portuguese typical sweets that are not fried, like Bolo Rei, and sweet rice or, as we say in Portuguese, arroz doce. Arroz doce Bolo Rei

Christmas Madeiro • In the region of Penamacor, there is a special Christmas tradition known as Christmas Madeiro. In the past, the boys who were about to register in the army had to steal whole trees and make the biggest fireplace in their neighborhood, usually on Christmas eve or during Midnight Mass. Many people still keep this tradition alive, and trees usually burn until Christmas day.

Janeiras Carols Another Portuguese tradition is having people singing Janeiras Carols, while they stroll the streets of a town. A group of friends or neighbors get together and go from house to house singing and sometimes playing instruments. Janeiras will vary from town to town.