Christmas traditions

 Following the tradition, Portuguese families get together on December 24 for dinner and the table is served with cod dishes, although roast turkey and other meat dishes, which used to be enjoyed in the following days, also begin to integrate the menus. . For dessert, you cannot miss the Bolo-Rei, stuffed with crystallized fruit or dried fruit, as well as other characteristic pastries of the season such as Broas Castelares and traditional fried foods such as filhós, sonhos and rabanadas.

At midnight the Missa do Galo is celebrated and in the churches, as well as in the houses, there is a special place for the manger, the recreation of the stable where Jesus was born, which Saint Francis of Assisi idealized in the 13th century, and which is very popular in Portugal.

Christmas gifts are exchanged after midnight or on the morning of December 25, depending on the custom of each family. In the past, before Santa Claus animated Portuguese Christmas and left the gifts on the Tree, it was the Child Jesus who delivered them. At bedtime, the children would leave their shoes on the fireplace and in the morning, when they woke up, they would see the surprise that had been left for them. If they had behaved well during the year, of course...

In some towns such as Bragança, Guarda, Castelo Branco and in some villages, wood is still burned on the night of December 24, in a large bonfire in the churchyard. It serves as a meeting point to gather friends and neighbors and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

After New Year's Eve, the festivities end on Three Kings Day, on January 6. In the street or in the monuments and churches, you can listen to the "Janeiras", traditional songs that wish you a Good Year.

This year the spirit of the season and the traditional events return. The Natal Village of Cabeça, in the municipality of Seia, Óbidos or Monsaraz are highly visited at this time and the illuminations and the Christmas atmosphere will continue, as well as in most towns throughout the country.