In a hidden corner of Oxford’s University Parks is a quiet spot by the river comprising grass and trees with a couple of benches. Few people know about it and even fewer visit it. This was not always the case. There was a time when it was a bustling male-only swimming pool, known as Parson’s Pleasure. On the opposite bank is Dame’s Delight, which despite its name, was a mixed-sex swimming pool. Both are long gone and there is little left to give any indication of what popular places they were.

Oxford has two rivers running through it, the Cherwell and the Isis (known as the Thames everywhere outside of Oxford), so it’s not surprising that throughout the ages swimming holes have appeared at various places along both rivers. Nowadays, swimming is no longer encouraged at most of them and only one officially designated swimming site still exists on the Oxford part of the Thames, at the Wolvercote Mill Stream (although several unofficial ones still pop up on the Thames in Port Meadow on hot summer days). The people of Oxford had been swimming at Parson’s Pleasure, located at a bend in the River Cherwell in the south-east corner of University Parks, since the early 17th century. At that time it was called Patten’s Pleasure, but by the early 19th century it became known as Parson’s Pleasure, as by that time it was mainly male members of the University who swam there. The playful and slightly risqué name is a reference to the Oxford University theologians, theology being one of the main subjects (alongside medicine and law) taught at Oxford University up to the mid-19th century. Parson’s Pleasure was more than just a section of the river where men could swim. There were changing cubicles, diving boards (in the trees) and an attendant who had a small cubicle where he collected the entrance fee and hired out towels. The hiring of swimming costumes was unnecessary, as most men bathed in the nude. Men would often cover their private parts with towel if a boat passed by. A story that is now part of Oxford folklore is that on one occasion a group of Oxford University dons were sunbathing by the river when a punt appeared. All but one of the dons grabbed their towels and covered their private parts while the other one covered his face, saying ‘I don’t know about you, gentlemen, but in Oxford, I, at least, am known by my face!’. Fences and plants were put around the area for privacy and any women who were passing by on a boat were encouraged to disembark before reaching Parson’s Pleasure and walk around it to meet their boat on the other side! Drownings were quite common and even today there is a warning sign saying ‘Danger! Deep water’ by an area of water known as the ‘Devil’s Eye’, so the attendant’s job was mainly lifesaving and teaching people to swim and one of the most fondly remembered of the attendants is Charles Cox, who worked there for 75 years, retiring in 1914 at the age of 87! He even has an area of the University Parks named after him, at Cox’s Corner.

Although women were allowed to swim in the Parson’s Pleasure pool from the late-19th century, thanks to the aforementioned Charles Cox who gave them access for an hour at lunchtime (on the understanding that they would wear a swimming costume, no naked swimming for them!), they didn’t have an official part of the river to go swimming in until Dame’s Delight was opened by the the university in 1934. Dame’s Delight was originally a female-only swimming spot when it opened, but soon after anyone was allowed to swim there. The name Dame’s Delight, an equally playful and risqué counterpart to Parson’s Pleasure, was an unofficial name which was adopted by the locals and stuck. As with Parson’s Pleasure, there were changing rooms on the site. Dame’s Delight was accessed via a walkway over the river from the weir at Parson’s Pleasure to the opposite bank, but the walkway had a high screen which maintained Parson’s Pleasure’s privacy. The pool was permanently closed in the 1970s, when it was in a bad state of disrepair due to flooding and lack of use as swimmers discovered the pleasures of heated indoor pools. Standing on the bank of Parson’s Pleasure I could see three wooden poles jutting out of the water on the opposite bank, which were probably the remains of the old jetties which led into the water at Dame’s Delight. The wooden walkway has long disappeared, apart from one pole sticking out of the river that is resolutely hanging on. Everything else has been reclaimed by nature and Dame’s Delight can’t be accessed from University Parks anymore.

The Parson’s Pleasure swimming pool closed in 1991 and walking through the area today it is hard to imagine what a bustling place it must have been with Oxford dons and students (including, at various times, T E Lawrence, C S Lewis and William Morris, among many others) splashing around in the river, diving from the trees, sunbathing, playing games, talking and laughing. On the day I visited, there were just two ducks swimming in the slightly murky looking water, although I can imagine on a hot day how tempting it would be to dive into the cool water and swim with the ghosts of swimmers past!

May Day is celebrated throughout England on 1st May to welcome the beginning of summer and on the morning of this day every year, the city of Oxford celebrates in its own unique style.

A festival has been celebrated around this date for millenia, known as Beltane (the fires of Bel) to the ancient Celts and as Floralia to the Ancient Romans, to celebrate fertility, to welcome the new growing season and to ask the gods for a plentiful harvest. Bel and Flora were both deities: Bel is possibly the Celtic god, Belenus, and Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers. The tradition of the May Queen dates back to these early festivals. Beltane saw the young May Queen fighting off the old Winter Queen and for the Ancient Romans Flora was the May Queen. The male counterpart of the May Queen was the Green Man, who was a pagan symbol of fertility.

In Medieval times people celebrated ‘bringing in the May’ by decorating their homes with flowers and around this time 1st May started to become a day of celebration, including groups of people dancing around a maypole while weaving long ribbons that hung from the maypole as they danced. During the time of the Commonwealth (1649–1660) May Day celebrations were banned by the Puritan Oliver Cromwell as they were seen as pagan celebrations, especially dancing around the maypole, which the Puritans associated with tree worship. Orders were made to take down maypoles, but they were reinstated in 1660 by Charles II. In the 19th century May Day evolved into a celebration which revolved around the May Queen, but by this time she had become symbol of purity rather than fertility and was played by a young girl from the village, dressed in white and crowned with a garland of flowers, accompanied by other young girls.

There are no maypoles or May Queens in Oxford on May Morning, as Oxford has developed its own unique take on the May Day tradition, with a noticeable distinction between the ‘town’ and the ‘gown’ parts of the celebrations. The tradition of the ‘gown’ part of the day goes back at least 500 years, with choral music being sung from the top of Magdalen College Great Tower, followed by the ringing of the bells. This has continued until the present day, when on May Day morning a religious service is held at 6am (around sunrise) marked by the singing of a Latin hymn, the ‘Hymnus Eucharisticus’, by the Magdalen College Choir from the top of the tower (first sung at May Morning in 1674, music by Benjamin Rogers, the Magdalen College organist and choirmaster, 1665–1668, and lyrics by Thomas Smith, a Fellow at Magdalen College, 1666–1692), followed by some secular madrigals (such as ‘Now is the Month of Maying’, a song with euphemistic references to lusty encounters, and ‘The Summer is Icumen In’, which celebrates the coming of new life). The service is listened to from the street below by students and townsfolk who line Magdalen Bridge, the top of the High Street and even listen from boats on the River Cherwell. The bells are then rung for 20 minutes, which marks the start of the secular ‘town’ celebrations. From the 1970s until the early part of the 21st century, the ringing of the bells was also a cue for students to jump off the Magdalen Bridge into the dangerously shallow River Cherwell below. After several jumpers were seriously injured, access to the river from the bridge is now closed on May Morning, and that ‘tradition’ seems to have become consigned to the past.

A parade from Magdalen Bridge makes its way down the High Street led by a sword-bearer (carrying a sword which holds a cake known as ‘fertility cake’, made from a secret recipe, which is distributed among the onlookers by Morris dancers to offer protection and fertility if you eat it with your left hand with your eyes closed) and a Jack-in-the-Green, a man inside a bush, followed by the groups of Morris dancers, musicians, hungover students dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns coming directly from all-night balls (staying up all night to greet May Morning is an Oxford University tradition), and sleepy townsfolk on their way to work.

Many people in the crowd wear garlands of flowers and leaves on their heads, with reference to the festival of Floralia, and the event starts to take a more pagan turn! The centre of Oxford has a party atmosphere as May Day in Oxford is also one of the rare days when pubs and cafes open early in the morning and you can drink a pint of beer or a glass of champagne with your full English breakfast!

The Morris dancers, other dancers, and various groups of musicians, such as the Whirly Band folk group and the Horns of Plenty (a brass, sax, clarinet and percussion ensemble), make their way to Radcliffe Square, Broad Street and the adjacent streets where various groups perform traditional Morris dances in order to ‘dance the sun up’ and shout ‘up the May!’.

Morris dancing is one of the most English of traditions and can still be seen being performed at village fetes throughout the summer. It is believed to have originated as entertainment in the medieval royal courts of Europe, and was documented as being performed in the court of Henry VIII in the 16th century. The name ‘Morris’ most-likely comes from the French word ‘morisque’ (meaning Moorish dance) and first appeared in English as ‘morisse’ in the mid-15th century. Dancers wore elaborate costumes with sleeves that had long bits of material hanging from them. Later in the 16th century it had evolved into a rural activity, performed by local men at village spring festivals such as May Day and Whitsun to bring about a good harvest and to accompany the selling of church ales. At this time the costumes became much simpler, often everyday clothes decorated with sashes, feathers and bells (the bells were thought to ward off evil spirits, and its not surprising to learn that Morris dancing was another thing banned by Oliver Cromwell in the mid-17th century for its pagan associations). Later handkerchiefs were added to the costume to replicate the long sleeves of the medieval dancers. By the 19th century the costume had become the version that is still worn by Morris men (and women) today, generally a white shirt and trousers, with a colourful crossed sash across the body (known as a ‘baldrick’), and bell pads at the top of the shins, plus props such as handkerchiefs, wooden sticks or swords. Beyond that, every Morris side (‘side’ is the term used to describe a Morris group) has its own version of the costume and, of course, there are significant regional differences. Each Morris side comprises six or eight dancers who are accompanied by musicians playing the accordion, concertina, melodeon and sometimes a fiddle.

The Morris side always has an extra dancer known as the Fool, thought to be based on the medieval and renaissance court jester, who adds an element of humour to the performance. The Fool is dressed differently from the other dancers, usually for comic effect, and often has a stick with something on the end that he (or she) can annoy the dancers with in a humorous way. Although the popularity of Morris dancing has declined since the end of the 19th century, most villages in England have a Morris dancing side and it is very much alive and kicking on May Morning in Oxford.

Jack-in-the-Green has been a traditional part of May Day celebrations since at least the 18th century, when he became associated initally with groups of milkmaids and later with groups of chimney sweeps in urban May Day parades, where he would parade with musicians, young chimney sweeps and other people dressed in various costumes, including men in drag, to raise money for the chimney sweeps to cover them during the summer months when there was less work. The tradition started to die out in the mid-19th century, as the bawdiness and anarchic behaviour of these parades was offensive to Victorian sensibilities and he was replaced by the aforementioned May Queen. Jack-in-the-Green was revived in the late-20th century in a slightly different guise, now being associated with the Morris dancers and with a role of leading the parade to ensure the route is clear and interacting with the on-lookers during the dancing. On Oxford May Morning he is first seen at 6am by Magdalen Tower and then, after leading the procession to the town, he moves around the town and you never know where he will turn up until he joins the Morris dancers in the ‘Bonny Green Garters’ dance outside St John’s College around 8.30am! The merriment pauses at 9am when the Morris dancers go for breakfast (only to resume outside the Ashmolean Museum at 10am), at which time the sleep-deprived students go home to bed and the townsfolk head off to school and work with a big smile on their face!

Happy May Day!

Hot cross buns are an integral part of the Easter period. Although they are now readily available throughout the year, they are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. For most of us they are a tasty snack that marks the start of the Easter long weekend, but for Catholics they have always been an acceptable food to eat on Good Friday where they would otherwise be fasting, and, as such, have a religious symbolism. The basic recipe consists of flour, sugar, yeast, butter, milk and egg, to which spices and dried fruit are added and, most importantly, a pastry cross is added to the top of the bun. Both the cross and the spices symbolize the crucifixion of Christ, representing Christ’s death on the cross and the annoiting of his body with spices in the tomb. However, like many Christian festivals, elements of Easter are based on an earlier Anglo-Saxon pagan festival to honour Eostre, the goddess of spring, which was celebrated in April. Bread filled with currants was eaten at this time to celebrate the coming of spring and as Christianity took over from paganism, some elements of the Eostre celebrations were adopted by the Christians over the Easter period. It is therefore likely that hot cross buns have their origins in this Eostre bread. We also know for certain that a bun known as the Alban Bun was being made in medieval times as food to be distributed to the poor, as it is still made by St Alban’s Cathedral, where it originated, today. The bun was very similar to the hot cross bun we know today and marked with a cross pressed into the dough.

The first recorded reference to the name ‘hot cross bun’ dates back to 1733, although it is likely it was around before then. A popular nursery rhyme, ‘Hot cross buns!’, first appeared in print in 1798 and is still sung today, although a hot cross bun costs more than a ha’ penny today (a hot cross bun from Gail’s bakery in 2026 is £2.80).

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny,
Hot cross buns!

The increase in price isn’t the only change since 1798. While the majority of hot cross buns on sale in bakeries are still the fruit and spice versions, there is a recent trend of supermarkets selling buns labelled as ‘hot cross buns’ with unusual flavours, including tiramisu, apple and cinnamon, chocolate (or chocolate with other flavours, such as cherry, salted caramel and fudge), carrot cake, triple berry, caramelised biscuit, strawberries and clotted cream, brown butter and chai tea, and even a savoury version made with Cheddar and red Leicester cheese! My preference will always be for the traditional fruit and spice hot cross bun served warm and spread with butter. Simple pleasures!

Ash Wednesday and Lent

After the excesses of carnival, life takes on a more sombre aspect on Quarta-feira de Cinzas (Ash Wednesday), a day which marks the start of Quaresma (Lent) and is celebrated in a secular way by the funeral of the carnival king and in a religious way by Catholics who attend a mass where a cross is made on the forehead using the ashes of the palm and olive branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday service. Catholics in Portugal still adhere to the Church’s dictate that meat should not be eaten on Ash Wednesday or on any Friday during the period of Lent and furthermore that people should do a partial fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. I prefer the modern take on abstinence, which is to give up something other than food (such as using social media) that you are willing to sacrifice for 46 days (or 40 days if you allow yourself a reprieve on the Sundays of Lent, when the Catholic Church permits the eating of meat).

In Óbidos the start of Lent is celebrated with a procession on the first Sunday of Lent known as the Procissāo Penitencial da Ordem Terceira (Penitential Procession of the Third Order) (also known as the Procissāo da Rapaziada (Procession of the ‘Gang’)), in which nine litters with statues of saints who were followers of Saint Francis of Assisi (including Saint Louis IX King of France, Saint Isabel Queen of Portugal, Saint Rosa of Viterbo, Saint Margarida of Cortona, Saint Bebiana and Saint Ivo), and Saint Francis of Assisi himself, decorated with flowers are carried through the town to remember the ideals of Saint Francis.

In Braga, the sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte on the outskirts the city holds a devoçāo da Via-Sacra (devotions of the Way of the Cross) ceremony every Sunday in Lent. The ceremony starts near the first chapel of the Via-Sacra staircase, goes to each of the 14 chapels (which represent the Stations of the Cross), at each of which a prayer is said, and ends with a celebration of the Eucharist in the church.

The week leading up to Palm Sunday was traditionally the week when people spring cleaned their houses. As well as the practical need to clean the house after the winter, it was also believed that a dirty house couldn’t be blessed on Easter Sunday. Women would take advantage of the spring-like weather and wash or air all the household linen, but a proverb regarding this reminds us that the weather can be unpredictable at Easter: ‘Na semana de Ramos lava os teus panos, que na da Paixāo lavarás ou nāo’, which loosely translates to mean ‘In the week before Palm Sunday (when the weather is good) wash your household linen, as in Holy Week you may or may not be able to wash (and dry) it (as it may be sunny or rainy)’.

Holy Week

The week before Easter is known as Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Portugal and begins on Domingo dos Ramos (Palm Sunday), which is celebrated by processions representing Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey where the people welcomed him with palm fronds and olive branches. After the Palm Sunday mass, palm fronds, sprigs of rosemary, olive branches and bunches of flowers are blessed and people carry them in the procession and later take them home where they stay throughout the year to protect it from evil. Those left in the church are burnt and, as mentioned above, used in the Ash Wednesday service the following year.

On Palm Sunday it is traditional for children to give a gift of flowers or sugared almonds to their godparents. Holy Week is marked by processions and Biblical reenactments which take place over the course of the week. The most famous are in Óbidos on Palm Sunday with a procession of Senhor dos Passos (Our Lord of the Stations of the Cross) through the walled town led by a gafaú (a barefoot man dressed from head to foot in black holding a snake-like musical instrument called a serpentão (a wind instrument related to the tuba) who represents the executioner announcing the arrival of the condemned man) and on Sexta-feira Santa (Good Friday) when a moving torchlight procession re-enacts Jesus being taken down from the cross and his burial, and the night-time processions in Braga in the north of Portugal acted out over several nights. These include the Procissāo dos Passos (Procession of the Stations of the Cross) on Palm Sunday, which depicts scenes of the day of the crucifixion of Christ as Jesus carries the cross around the city; a Biblical procession ‘Vós sereis o Meu povo’ (‘You shall be My people’) on the Wednesday which depicts scenes from the Old and New Testament leading up to the events of the Easter story (the procession is also known as the Procissāo de Nossa Senhora ‘da Burrinha’ (Procession of Our Lady ‘of the Little Donkey’), after the scene which depicts the flight into Egypt); and on Quinta-feira Santa (Maundy Thursday) a procession of Our Lord Ecce Homo (‘Behold the Man!’), which is also known as Senhor da Cana Verde (Our Lord of the Green Reed), which represents the events in Gethsemane, the betrayal by Judas and the scene from the Easter story when the soldiers of Pontius Pilate mock Jesus being named King of the Jews by dressing him in a purple robe, putting a crown of thorns on his head and making him hold a reed in place of a royal sceptre. In this state Jesus is paraded through the streets of Braga led by Farricocos (barefoot penitents dressed in black habits with hoods that cover their entire face and carrying rattles, which they spin noisily, and fogaréus (tall lanterns that contain burning pine cones; the procession is also known as the Procession of the Fogaréus, after the soldiers who arrested Jesus, carrying torches)), and followed by the clergy, people dressed as characters from the story of the Last Supper and the sentencing of Christ, and a marching band.

A particularly emotive procession on Maundy Thursday is the Procissāo do Senhor da Misericórdia (Procession of Our Lord of Mercy, also known as the Procissāo dos Fogaréus (Procession of the Lanterns)) in Sardoal (near Santarém in the Centro region), in which all the street lights are turned off and the only light comes from candles and lanterns carried by the people in the procession, giving the procession a mystical atmosphere. Also on this day the lava-pés (foot washing) ceremony sees 12 people having their feet washed by the priest, representing Jesus washing the feet of the 12 disciples, before the Maundy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

Good Friday is a public holiday in Portugal and marked by religious services and processions throughout the country. In Braga the Procissāo do Enterro do Senhor (Burial procession of Our Lord) is a silent procession with mourners accompanying Christ’s coffin through the streets. The mourners include Farricocos, but on this night they walk in silence. For Catholics it is also a fast day and the main meal eaten on this day is cod. For many non-religious people, the long Easter weekend is an opportunity to go on holiday.

Easter Saturday

Sabado de Aleluia (Easter Saturday) sees a temporary return to the pre-Lenten silliness of carnival in places such as Figueira da Foz (near Coimbra), Sesimbra (south of Lisbon), Soutocico (near Leiria) and Vila Real (in the Trás-os-Montes region in the north of the country), with a decidedly secular celebration known as the Enterro do Bacalhau (Burial of the Cod). The ceremony marks the end of the period of abstinence from meat in which, in the past, dried salted cod (nicknamed the ‘fiel amigo’ (faithful friend)) was the staple food, and during the evening, in a theatrical performance that takes place in the streets, the cod is satirized, tried, sentenced to death and, following a funeral procession behind a coffin with a cardboard cod on top, it is finally buried in the ground. One of the biggest productions in Portugal is the one in Soutocico which was first held in 1938 and takes place every four years with a cast of around 300, followed by a meal of cod for the performers and the audience served at midnight. The tradition of burying the cod originates from the sixteenth century when, although it was forbidden to eat meat during Lent, people could buy a dispensation, but naturally only the very rich could afford to do this. Not surprisingly, the act of burying the cod was seen as a criticism of the church and the ceremony was banned during the years of the Salazar dictatorship.

In addition to the Burial of the Cod, another highlight of Easter Saturday is a the Queima do Judas (Burning of Judas), which occurs throughout Portugal, usually with an effigy of Judas Iscariot being paraded through the streets of the town or village, hanged and then burnt or exploded with fireworks, symbolizing the destruction of evil as well as the end of winter and start of spring. However, in Tondela (near Viseu in the Centro region) the Burning of Judas is a large-scale theatrical musical production, dating from 1985, put on by the Cultural and Recreational Association of Tondela, which takes place in the municipal sports pavilion just before midnight. Rehearsals take place, at what is known as the Fábrica da Queima (Burning Factory), over the week leading up to Easter Saturday with over 300 teenagers from schools around the country being involved and attracting an estimated audience of 6000 people.

In contrast, a simple religious ceremony, the Bênçāo dos Borregos (Blessing of the Lambs), is held in Castelo de Vide in the eastern Alentejo on the morning of Easter Saturday when the lamb market is held and the priest blesses the lambs outside the church before they are sold. In the evening the people gather outside the church in a vigil known as Vigília Pascal e Chocalhada (Easter and Cowbell Ringing Vigil) waiting to hear the ringing of the church bells at the end of the service (around 11pm). At that time they start ringing their cowbells and make a procession through the streets of the town.

Easter Sunday

What must be one of the prettiest Domingo de Páscoa (Easter Sunday) religious processions takes place in Sāo Brás de Alportel (north of Faro in the Algarve region). The Procissāo da Ressurreiçāo (Procession of Resurrection), which is part of the Festa das Tochas Floridas (Flower Torch Festival), is marked by the men of the town carrying torches of flowers; there is a beautiful carpet of flowers on the ground and colourful bedspreads hanging over the balconies of the apartment blocks. As the procession progresses there are shouts of ‘Ressuscito, como disse!’ (‘He has risen, as he said!’), which is followed by more voices shouting ‘Aleluia! Aleluia! Aleluia!’.

Also in the Algarve is the Festa Pequena a Nossa Senhora da Piedade (Little Festival of Our Lady of Mercy, also known as Māe Soberana (Sovereign Mother), the patron saint of Loulé) procession which takes place in Loulé (north-west of Faro) on Easter Sunday when the statue of the Virgin Mary is carried through the streets to the church of Sāo Francisco. On 5th May, in a procession known as the ‘Festa Grande’ (Big Festival), the statue is then carried from the church to a shrine. This is an important religious festival and is considered to be the biggest one in southern Portugal.

In the village of Fontāo in Ponte de Lima, near Viana do Castelo (in the north-west corner of Portugal) a tradition that has been running for over 30 years, o Mordomo da Cruz (the Steward of the Cross), takes place on Easter Sunday. Despite the name, the main duty of the annually elected steward is to organize a lunch for the local people, which can be up to 500 people, at a cost of around €25,000. The women of the village prepare the meal, which includes traditional Portuguese dishes such as canja de galinha (chicken soup), cod, goat, veal, rice pudding, folar (an Easter sweet bread) and wine, while the teenagers of the village are the waiters and waitresses. At the end of the lunch the following year’s steward is named by the wife of the current steward by handing an orange tree branch to the successor. The name ‘Steward of the Cross’ comes from the fact that he carries the cross around the village in the Easter procession. This tradition, known as the Compasso Pascal (Paschal Visit), is still practiced in villages in the northern part of the country in which the steward, and sometimes the parish priest, will carry the cross from house to house to bless it and the people who live there and the householders will decorate their house with flowers or herbs to welcome the cross and offer food or drink to the cross bearer.

Easter food

As the long period of Lent comes to an end, people celebrate by eating meat, in particular roast lamb or goat in central and northern Portugal, while in the Algarve pork and chicken is more popular. No home would be complete without the traditional folar, but depending on the region it may be savoury or it may be sweet. In the Trás-os-Montes region in the north-east of the country they eat Folar de Chaves, savoury bread stuffed with meat such as ham, bacon and sausage. In the south they eat a sweet version called Folar de Olhāo, made with cinnamon and sugar. The most famous is the version with a boiled egg in the middle covered by a dough cross.

While chocolate is ubiquitous, a traditional gift at Easter time is sweets made of almonds, in particular amêndoas tipo francês (pink and white sugared almonds), amêndoas lisa cores (sugared almonds of other colours), amêndoas de chocolate or cláudias (chocolate-covered almonds) and amêndoas torradas or caramelizadas (caramelized almonds). Almonds are a symbol of fertility and renewal and to Catholics are a symbol of the resurrection of Christ.

A gift is traditionally given by a godparent to their godchild on Easter Sunday in return for the gift the godchild has given them on Palm Sunday and this gift usually takes the form of something sweet, whether it be a folar, pāo de ló (sponge cake) or almond sweets, however, these gifts are not just exchanged between godparents and their godchildren, but among friends and family. Segunda-feira de Páscoa (Easter Monday) isn’t a public holiday in Portugal, but it won’t be long until another Portuguese public holiday comes along!

(Incidentally, April Fools’ Day on 1st April is known as Dia das Mentiras (Day of Lies) in Portugal and is marked by the media reporting hoax news stories, and Portugal celebrates Dia da Māe (Mother’s Day) on the first Sunday in May (not the fourth Sunday of Lent as in the United Kingdom and Ireland).)

Feliz Páscoa!

Dates of Easter Sunday up to 2030:
5 April 2026
28 March 2027
16 April 2028
1 April 2029
21 April 2030

Carnival or Entrudo (Shrovetide), as it is more commonly referred to in Portugal, is a festival ranging from the Friday before Lent to Quarta-feira de Cinzas (Ash Wednesday) which takes place in February or March. The weather is usually cold and often wet, even in the south of the country, and as a result in many places you may not see the stereotypical carnival scenes of samba dancers in minimalist costumes and extravagant floats. Carnival celebrations in Portugal are very unique to the country and, more specifically, unique to the various regions where they take place. Many of the celebrations originate from pagan times when it was believed that at the end of the winter evil spirits needed to be driven out so that spring could return and carnival was a celebration to drive out these spirits and herald a return to fertility. It also marked the start of a period with very little food as the winter stocks were running out or going off and food wouldn’t be available again until the spring. In Christian times it became a period of over-indulgence before the 40 days of abstinence during Lent. It is generally thought that the word ‘carnival’ is from the Latin carnem levāre (to stop eating meat), so before the period of abstinence begins, meat is enjoyed in dishes such as the popular meat-based feijoada, a hearty stew of pork (using all parts of the pig!), sausage and white or red beans, which is eaten in all regions of the country during Shrovetide. Throughout the country Shrovetide has certain recurring themes: there is a lord of misrule who on the last day of carnival is tried and sentenced to death; people play practical jokes on other people; the villagers and townsfolk dress up in costumes; those in authority are mocked; and there is music, dancing and a feast.

Norte region

In the north of the country there is a Celtic influence to the carnival celebrations which can be heard in the bagpipe, drum and fiddle music. Masked men known as Caretos, run through the streets and symbolic effigies are burned, such as in the Entrudo Chocalheiro in Podence in the Trás-os-Montes region in the north-east of the country, where men dressed in vivid costumes run around the streets of the village on Domingo Gordo (the Sunday before Lent) and Terça-feira Gorda (Shrove Tuesday), accosting any women, old or young, and doing a strange dance which involves shaking the cowbells around their waist (chocalheiro describes a person wearing a cowbell). Their costumes of red, green and yellow wool, bright red masks, cowbells and wooden sticks represent the devil and on Shrove Tuesday an effigy of the devil is burnt on a bonfire.

A similar figure appears in the Entrudo dos Compadres in Lazarim, in the Douro region, where men wear enormous carved wooden masks often with horns coming from the top designed to look frightening, along with costumes similar to those in Podence, often made of natural-coloured wool, straw, foliage or even lace. In both places the masks hide the person’s identity and allow them to behave badly. A popular proverb sums this up: ‘É Carnaval, ninguém leva a mal!’ (It’s carnival, no one will be offended!). In the preceding weeks the compadres (the young men of the village) are pitted against the comadres (the young women of the village) in various rituals which subvert traditional male and female roles and revolve around the carnival preparations, including making costumes, creating effigies and writing verse poems. Masks made from alderwood by artisan wood carvers are begun months before. It’s not altogether surprising that these subversive traditions were banned during the years of the dictatorship, as were all pagan festivals. The main event is on Shrove Tuesday when everyone gathers in the village square to watch a piece of theatre in which a young man and woman of the village stand on a balcony with two effigies of a male and female figure behind them (representing the compadres and comadres) and read their ‘wills’ which are verse poems poking fun at members of the opposite sex. Each four-line verse is punctuated by a drum being beat and the ringing of cowbells. People carrying the effigies then lead a procession to an area when the effigies are attached to a wire and set alight. Fireworks inside the effigies explode and they spin around like a Catherine wheel before fizzling out. This marks the end of the Entrudo.

In Lindoso in the very north of the Minho region (close to the border with Galician Spain) the celebrations revolve around the funeral of Pai Velho (the Old Father), a life-size mannequin of a man who represents winter. Pai Velho sits atop a decorated cart pulled by oxen followed by another cart with a structure of reeds, straw and branches and decorated with flowers representing spring. On the Sunday before Lent the procession makes its way through the village making stops at certain points where satirical sketches are performed, followed by a traditional dance. On Shrove Tuesday the procession goes through the village again, with more sketches and dancing and the appearance of a number of people known as ‘sweepers’ who have sticks with old rags on the bottom which they dip in water and brush along the villagers’ feet to scare away the evil spirits. That night the Enterro do Pai Velho (the funeral of the Old Father) begins with a mock funeral with a Mass and mourning followed by his cremation. Finally there is a public gathering where the villagers have the opportunity to voice any grudges.

Centro region

In the Aldeias de Xisto (Shale Villages) of Goís, Ponte do Sótão, Comareira, Aigra Nova, Aigra Velha, Pena and Cerdeira in the Serra da Lousã near Coimbra a very traditional Shrovetide celebration called the Corrida do Entrudo (Shrovetide Race) involves dressing up in devilish masks made from cork decorated with horns and teeth from dead animals and old clothes (the older the better) and running from village to village playing practical jokes and chanting humorous verses about the people of the other villages. The men dress up in women’s clothes and the women dress up as men. In addition to the masks and the old clothes, they also carry anything that makes a noise, such as a bell or rattle, which are used to punctuate the verse poems, and they carry oak apples which they will throw at the other villagers. Some revellers also carry traditional instruments such as a concertina, a drum or a scraper, which accompany a communal meal and traditional dancing.

The Torres Vedras carnival (approximately 50km north of Lisbon) which runs from the Friday before Lent to Ash Wednesday is known as ‘o Carnaval mais português de Portugal’ (the most Portuguese carnival in Portugal) and preparations begin 12 months in advance. Many of the satirical traditions date back to the 1920s, beginning with the crowning of the carnival King and Queen (both played by men) on the Friday, who receive the key of the city from the mayor. The carnival continues with a themed parade consisting of matrafonas (men dressed up in a satirical depiction of women), carnival floats decorated with cabeçudos (figures with enormous papier mâché heads which are often caricatures of famous politicians and celebrities), gigantones (giants: huge figures, up to four metres in height, with a papier mâché head on a frame covered in clothes designed to look like a human body and worn by a person who can control the movements so that it looks like the gigantone is walking in the parade), and Zés Pereiras bands (groups of drummers energetically playing snare drums and bass drums in the parade). The party atmosphere is added to by the throwing of cocotes (small paper parcels which until recently were filled with rubber shavings and sawdust, but now have been replaced by a cleaner version) between the people on floats and the crowd. On Ash Wednesday the Enterro do Entrudo (Funeral of the Carnival Period) is a scene that is acted out on a stage outside the law court where the King is condemned for his misrule during this period. An effigy of the King is exploded with fireworks representing the end of the carnival and a return to order.

In Canas de Senhorim the carnival traditions go back three hundred years when people from the aristocratic neighbourhood of Paço and the neighbourhood of Rossio, where the commoners lived, were given permission to criticise each other during Shrovetide. In the past it began in January when people started playing practical jokes on their neighbours such as a panelada which involves throwing an earthenware pot full of ashes and gallnuts into their houses or a pisão where a stone is attached to the door of a neighbour’s house by a string which when knocked against the house forces the owner to answer the door and find no-one there. Nowadays carnival starts on the Sunday before Lent when the two neighbourhoods parade through the streets and sing loudly at each other as a practice for the main parade on Shrove Tuesday. On the Monday before Lent the farinhada tradition occurs when any young woman leaving the house before midday is in danger of being covered with flour. The Monday afternoon is known as Segunda-feira das Velhas (Monday of the Old [Days]) or Dia da Crítica (Day of Criticism) when songs from the past are sung and parades with reference to the past take place and each neighbourhood makes fun of the other’s carnival floats and costumes. On Shrove Tuesday groups from Paço and Rossio parade through the streets of their respective neighbourhoods to a place where the two districts intersect, where they face each other in a despique (a singing competition). The winner is the group that displays the most joviality. The carnival ends on Ash Wednesday with the batatada (potato feast), a meal consisting of cod, potatoes, egg and cabbage, followed by the mock funeral mass for the carnival clown, who is then paraded through the streets where he is ceremoniously burnt.

The Carnival of Cabanas de Viriato, not far from Canas de Senhorim has, as part of its celebrations, a dance dating from the 1860s with the intriguing name of Dança dos Cús (Bum Dance). It is a dance where the people taking part in the carnival procession bump hips in a dance done to a waltz tempo played by a brass band. Even the cabeçudos join in!

Lisbon region

The major carnival in the Lisbon region is in Loures (north of the city of Lisbon). The carnival dates back to 1934 when it was started by a group of entertainers known as cegadas (a group of carnival masqueraders whose name comes from the idea that they beg like blindmen in the street) who performed satirical songs and verse that mocked a local celebrity. This tradition continues today, along with other features which include the coronation of the king and queen, the Baile Trapalhāo (Fool’s Ball, a masked-ball where everyone is encouraged to wear an unusual mask), a themed procession with decorated floats, groups in colourful costumes and the Mastronças do Moulin Rouge (Brutes of the Moulin Rouge: a large group of men who, as the name suggests, inelegantly dress up a women), and ending with the Enterro do Rei do Carnaval (Funeral of the Carnival King, also known as Enterro do Bacalhau (Funeral of the Cod, presumably named after the dried, salted cod which will be a staple food during Lent; a similar mock-funeral of the cod is held in some places on Easter Saturday to celebrate the end of Lent)) where King Ocarário, the carnival king, is tried at a satirical hearing and sentenced to a death that is followed by a fireworks display.

A little touch of Rio glamour and a lot of Portuguese irreverence

Until recently, in many parts of the country, the period before Lent was marked by people throwing items such as flour, eggs and water at each other. In Ovar (south of Porto) they celebrated Carnaval Sujo (Dirty Carnival) up to the 1950s, in which people threw anything they could get their hands on, ranging from coal dust to sawdust, for an exact period of 60 minutes. This tradition was replaced with carnival parades and nowadays many towns have started to include elements of the Rio de Janeiro carnival with colourful floats and samba dancers, but they are usually combined with the Portuguese traditions of political jokes and satire (that became popular after the 1974 revolution), the coronation of the king and queen and the ultimate denunciation and burial of the king, and alongside the Samba schools are groups of passerelles (dancers) and apeados (groups with elaborate costumes and scenery, often irreverent), who take part in the parade and compete to be the best in their category in the carnival. Each carnival has an annual theme, often linked to an aspect of Portuguese culture or history (‘Made in Portugal’, ‘The Great Shipwreck’, ’50 Years After the Carnation Revolution’, ‘Superheroes’)); Nazaré’s (a coastal resort in the Centro region) carnival always has a themed linked to a Nazarene saying written in dialect. There is always a children’s parade, usually on the Friday before Lent, where children of the local schools parade in costumes to a theme. The biggest carnival in the Algarve region is in Loulé (north-west of Faro) where the whole town is closed off for the duration. Running for over 100 years, it claims to be the oldest carnival in the country (although the Moncarapacho carnival (near Olhão, east of Faro) is actually older, dating from 1899, the Loulé one is said to be the first carnival which included carnival floats in the parade). The carnival procession has a good mixture of Rio-style samba groups and Portuguese-style satire (mocking politicians and celebrities from the world of sport and television), particularly through the aforementioned cabeçudos and gigantones. Other Rio-style carnivals can be seen in Ovar, Sines (on the Alentejo coast), Elvas (near the Alentejo border with Spain), Mealhada and Estarreja (both in the Aveiro district), Nazaré, Sesimbra (south of Lisbon) and Alcobaça (near Nazaré, which claims to have the most Brazilian carnival in Portugal).

With all these celebrations taking place across the country it is surprising that Shrove Tuesday is not one of the official public holidays, while the little-celebrated Republic Day on 5th October is. Instead it is an optional holiday which means that it is at the discretion of the employer (or local authority for public sector workers). However, most people do take the day off, for carnival is part of the Portuguese psyche and as the Portuguese saying goes, ‘A vida slo dois dias, o Carnaval são três!’ (Life lasts for two days, carnival lasts for three!).

Dates of Shrove Tuesday up to 2030:
17 February 2026
9 February 2027
29 February 2028
13 February 2029
5 March 2030

The first time I celebrated New Year’s Eve in Portugal (A Passagem de Ano, also sometimes known as Réveillon or Véspera de Ano Novo) it is amazing that I made it through the following year, as, according to Portuguese tradition, I did everything wrong. I ate chicken for dinner on New Year’s Eve, wore a coat with a button missing, had no money in my purse and toasted the new year with water (as I had to catch a very early flight the next morning). Since then, Portuguese friends have advised me on how to celebrate New Year’s Eve properly in order to achieve success and happiness in the year ahead.

For many people the night begins with a family dinner of seasonal food similar to that of Christmas, including the ubiquitous bolo rei (king cake), followed in the early hours of the new year with a sustaining bowl of caldo verde (a comforting soup made of potatoes and a green leafy vegetable similar to kale, usually served with slices of chouriço in it). At midnight most towns and cities have a firework display, and often have live music in the main square. The best places to celebrate New Year’s Eve are Lisbon (in Terreiro do Paço), Porto (on Avenida dos Aliados), Coimbra (in the lower part of the city), Albufeira (on Praia dos Pescadores) and in Funchal on the island of Madeira (which has one of the biggest fireworks displays in the world).

Throughout Portugal most people, young and old, still observe a few simple customs:
· At midnight everyone eats 12 raisins, one at each stroke of the clock, and makes a wish with each raisin.
· The new year is toasted with a glass of champagne or sparkling wine, based on the notion that alcohol brings health and vitality.
· People hug and kiss their loved ones at midnight, to bring them luck throughout the year, and wish them Feliz Ano Novo, Próspero Ano Novo, Bom Ano Novo or Boas Entradas.

But unlike Christmas, which is based around Christian traditions, scratch beneath the surface and on 31 December you will find people upholding New Year’s Eve superstitions and rituals that go back to pagan times, particularly among the older generations in rural areas. Many of the rituals are focussed on ensuring that wealth is achieved in the year ahead, such as the following which are all believed to attract money.
· Eat chocolate on New Year’s Eve.
· Keep a bay leaf in your wallet throughout the year.
· Put a bank note in your right shoe on New Year’s Eve and then use this note for your first purchase of the new year.
· Ensure there is money in your pocket or wallet on New Year’s Eve, so that you don’t start the new year with no money, as this state will last throughout the year.
· Stand on a chair with money in your hand (to symbolize a promotion or rise in status in the new year) and then come down with your right foot first, or climb onto a chair with your right foot first with money in your hand. These both mean you start the new year with money, which is thought to attract more money.
· Throw money into the house or up into the air at the stroke of midnight to bring about wealth to all who live there.
· Wear yellow underwear to encourage financial success in the coming year.
· Avoid wearing clothes that are dirty, torn, coming unstitched, have buttons missing or are too tight-fitting to avoid financial problems.
· Dance around a tree at midnight.

Many other rituals at the stroke of midnight are based around getting rid of the bad spirits of the past year.
· Hop on your right leg three times at the stroke of midnight with a glass of champagne in your hand, without spilling it, and then throw the champagne over your shoulder without looking behind you to get rid of all your problems from the past year. It will also bring luck to the people whom the champagne lands on!
· Bang pots and pans out of a window at midnight to make as much noise as possible. Nowadays fireworks have the same effect.
· Turn on all the lights and open all the doors in the house so that the old year can leave and the new year can enter, then at midnight go outside and re-enter the house with your right foot first.
· Have a clean house, replacing anything that doesn’t work and throwing away old crockery and other broken items to rid the house of negative energies. In the past people used to throw broken vases and crockery out of the window into the street below, but nowadays people maintain this tradition by throwing streamers and confetti.

There is also a desire for harmony in the family in the new year brought about by yet more rituals.
· Put new bed linen on the bed on New Year’s Eve to ensure a happy love life in the ensuing year.
· Avoid arguments on New Year’s Day, to keep familial peace in the year ahead.

Other customs are based on a desire for good luck, health and happiness in the new year.
· Avoid eating chicken as the last meal on New Year’s Eve, as it is believed that eating chicken will make happiness in the year ahead fly away.
· Choose the colour of the underwear you wear on New Year’s Eve based on what you want to achieve in the year ahead. Blue underwear is thought to bring good luck, white will bring peace, green will bring good health, red is for love, brown will bring career success and, as mentioned above, yellow underwear will bring financial success.
· Wear new clothes on New Year’s Day to represent a new start to the year ahead.
· Keep the champagne cork from the bottle of champagne for the entire year to come to renew your strength.
· Swim in the sea on New Year’s Day, as it is said to renew the body and soul at the start of the year.

So, this New Year’s Eve at midnight I’m going to cover all the bases and will be hopping on my right leg three times with money in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other, then will throw the money up into the air while eating 12 raisins and banging my pots and pans. I’m not superstitious, but you never know …!

Bom Ano Novo!

One of the most enduring images of Christmas in Portugal is the traditional nativity scene (presépio) which can be seen in a variety of forms in every church, in every town or village square and in most family homes usually from 9th December (the day after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception) to the Epiphany on 6th January (or sometimes to 2nd February, which in the Catholic church is the official end of the Christmas season).

Nativity scenes are part of Portugal’s cultural heritage, dating back to the Middle Ages, and it is fitting that there should be a room dedicated to Portuguese nativity scenes in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon. The most noteworthy scenes are the baroque ones designed for convents and stately homes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such as the one pictured above from São Vicente de Fora (sculpted by Joaquim José de Barros, c.1795). While the central scene in all nativity scenes depicts the birth of Christ and the arrival of the shepherds and the three kings, the sculptures also include other episodes from the gospels, alongside idealised scenes of everyday town and rural life, which would have been recognisable to the Portuguese of the time. The baroque style includes a complex mixture of naturalism and opulence conveyed through the medium of clay, wood and cork. Some scenes are encased in intricate display cases. The scale and level of detail is impressive and a little overwhelming when all of them are viewed together.

On the Portguese archipelago of Madeira there is a uniquely Madeiran version of the presépio known as a lapinha. There are two different types of lapinha, the lapinha em escadinha (staircase nativity) and the rochinha lapinha (rock nativity). Both contain elements of Madeiran culture integrated with characters from the story of the Nativity. The lapinha em escadinha is a small nativity scene usually displayed in people’s houses. It is set on three levels connected by a staircase, with Jesus surrounded by an arch of flowers on the top level. Other figures from the Christmas story are on the other levels and it also includes Madeiran produce, such as flowers, food and embroidery, as part of the display. Small pots of cereal crops and legumes (such as wheat, corn, lentils, peas and beans) are also added to the nativity scene, for the baby Jesus to bless and thus ensure a bountiful harvest the following year.

The rochinha lapinha is a large-scale nativity scene set in a Madeiran landscape, with recognisable mountains, waterfalls, levadas and a cave where the holy family are placed. Alongside the traditional characters from the Christmas story are Madeirans dressed in traditional Madeiran costume going about their daily life. Rochinha lapinhas can be seen in several parts of Funchal, including in the Ethnographic Village in the Largo da Restauração.

In complete contrast, an eclectic collection of nativity scenes, containing approximately 2700 scenes from around the world, is on display in the Igreja de São Francisco in Évora (which is also famous for the Chapel of Bones). The collection is owned by Fernando and Fernanda Canha da Silva, who have been collecting nativity scenes since 1973 and it is now on permanent display in the first gallery on the first floor of the church, along with a temporary exhibition, which changes annually, in the second gallery. The collection ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous and from the simple to the elaborate. Each scene reveals something of the culture in which it was created, including a Chinese Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in traditional Chinese costume and a depiction of the birth of Christ in a Bedouin tent accompanied by camels in place of the ox and ass. Many of the scenes have been made by local craftsmen using traditional materials, such as clay, wood, cork, wool, tin, ivory, ox horn and even seeds. There is a detailed scene painted on an ostrich egg; cork figures in a sardine tin; miniature scenes in cups; a naïve rustic scene where Mary and Joseph are dressed as traditional Portuguese farm labourers; and a tin field ambulance with the holy family in the back. The more unusual scenes include the depiction of Jesus on the cross with a nativity scene inside his belly; a carved wooden pagoda-like structure with a propeller at the top; a hippie-looking Mary and Joseph with an evangelist preacher-like Angel Gabriel accompanied by two enormous donkeys; and a piece of contemporary glass art by Mónica Favério, in which three very surprised characters seem to be floating around in outer space.

Unlike the large-scale baroque nativity scenes in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, the exhibits in the collection on display in the Igreja de São Francisco are small, often personal, depictions of the birth of Christ, but despite, or maybe because of, their simplicity they express a heartfelt belief.

Until recently, Christmas in Portugal was quite a modest celebration, but it is fair to say that in recent years the Christmas season has become increasingly commercialised. Pai Natal (Father Christmas) has insinuated his way into what has always been a religious festival and Christmas lights and Christmas trees can be seen in the streets and in shops from early December. Advent calendars are widely available and Christmas cards wishing friends and family Bom Natal / Feliz Natal (Happy Christmas) or Boas festas (Happy holidays) are sent and received, although not in such a large number as in the UK and USA, and this tradition does seem to be dying out in favour of electronic Christmas cards and messages. However, many families, particularly in rural areas, still maintain the traditions of a Portuguese Christmas, particularly when it comes to food, and none more so than the Christmas Eve dinner.

The Christmas Eve dinner

The main Christmas meal, known as the consoada, is eaten on the evening of Christmas Eve. Most businesses, including shops and restaurants, close early on Christmas Eve, so that the family can celebrate together. The consoada usually consists of a main course of cod served with boiled potatoes, boiled eggs and a type of cabbage or green beans, although in the north of the country (the Minho, Douro and Trás os Montes regions) they eat boiled octopus with rice or polvo à lagareiro (octopus in olive oil). Go into any food shop in the days leading up to Christmas and you will see row upon row of dried cod laid out for eager customers to buy.

In addition, there will be a huge variety of desserts, cakes and biscuits on offer, such as arroz doce (rice pudding), aletria (similar to arroz doce, but made with angel hair pasta instead of rice), azevias (pastry stuffed with a sweet mixture made of sweet potatoes or chickpeas and ground almonds), broas de mel (a soft biscuity cake flavoured with spices and honey), rabanadas (a type of French toast), salame de chocolate (a chocolate and biscuit log) and sonhos (a type of doughnut). Most of these contain or are sprinkled with cinnamon, the Portuguese spice of Christmas. However, the pièce de résistance is the bolo rei (king cake), which is a sweet bread filled with dried fruit and nuts, with crystallized fruits on the top and baked in the shape of a crown. As the name suggests, with the red, green and yellow gem-like fruit on the top it really does look like a cake fit for a king. Traditionally the cake is cooked with a fava bean and a small trinket inside and the person who gets the slice with the bean has to bake or buy the cake next year (shop-bought bolo reis don’t usually include the bean or the trinket). There is also an alternative cake called bolo rainha (queen cake) which has nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts and walnuts) on the top instead of the crystallised fruit. Needless to say these sweet treats will be served with a glass or two of port or vinho quente (mulled wine). In some regions tradition dictates that the table should not be cleared after the consoada; some say that it is out of respect for members of the family who have died and others believe that the food should be left for the Baby Jesus.

Midnight mass

After dinner many families attend midnight mass, which is known as the ‘Missa do Galo’ (Mass of the Cockerel), so named as the only time that the cockerel crowed at midnight was on the night Jesus was born. All churches, town and village squares and most family homes have a presépio (nativity scene) on display, but the figure of Jesus is not added to the manger until after midnight mass.

Presents

Traditionally Portuguese children left shoes by the fireplace for Menino Jesus (Baby Jesus) to leave a small present and they wouldn’t get the present until the figure of Jesus had been added to the nativity scene. Nowadays they still leave shoes by the fireplace or hang a Christmas stocking from the Christmas tree, but they expect Father Christmas (who, they are told, is helped by the Baby Jesus) to leave something more substantial than a small present. Some adults open their presents on Christmas Eve, whereas many less religious people open them on Christmas Day along with the children.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day is a more relaxed day than Christmas Eve. It is a public holiday and most shops and restaurants will be closed, although some restaurants in tourist areas open to serve Christmas dinner (it is advisable to book a table in advance). A popular meal eaten in Portuguese homes on this day has the wonderful name of roupas velhas (old clothes) and is a mixture of all the leftover savoury food from the previous evening. Some people will have a roast turkey on this day or another type of meat depending on the region.

An unusual, but fun event held in Armação de Pêra in the Algarve, has recently become an annual Christmas Day tradition. The Santa Swim organized by the Clube dos Veículos Clássicos do Barlavento is held at the Holiday Inn hotel to raise money for charity. Around a hundred people, both locals and tourists, arrive on the beach near the hotel dressed in Santa suits and at 11 o’clock run into the sea en masse. It is a good way of burning off some of the calories gained on the previous evening!

26th December

The day after Christmas is not celebrated in Portugal and is a normal working day. However, a lot of people take the period between Christmas and New Year as holiday and, of course, the schools are on holiday during this time.

Christmas music

Christmas music is important in the run-up to Christmas in Portugal, but it is true to say that there isn’t a large repertoire of Portuguese Christmas pop songs and those that there are don’t tend to get widely played. English-language Christmas songs, on the other hand, are played endlessly and Michael Bublé’s Christmas album, which has become the soundtrack to Christmas in so many countries, can be heard everywhere you go. However, away from the commercial centres, Portuguese Christmas music can be heard during the Christmas period; ranging from traditional religious songs to Portuguese versions of English-language songs. A small number of Portuguese popular artists have also recorded original Christmas pop songs in Portuguese in an attempt to emulate Bublé et al. I have written an article about Portuguese Christmas music, which looks at Portuguese Christmas carols and Christmas pop songs in more detail.

Christmas is a lovely time of the year to visit Portugal. It is less crowded with tourists and more relaxed as a result. The days can be warm and sunny, especially in the Algarve, and it is a perfect time to go for a winter walk - you will probably need to after eating all those wonderful desserts!

Boas festas!

For me, Christmas isn’t Christmas without the familiar Christmas songs that we all know and love being played throughout December — and there are certainly a lot of songs to choose from in English-speaking countries! Christmas music is also important in the run-up to Christmas in Portugal, but it is true to say that there isn’t a large repertoire of Portuguese Christmas pop songs and those that there are don’t tend to get widely played. English-language Christmas songs, on the other hand, are played endlessly and Michael Bublé’s Christmas album, which has become the soundtrack to Christmas in so many countries, can be heard everywhere you go. However, away from the commercial centres, Portuguese Christmas music can be heard during the Christmas period; ranging from traditional religious songs to Portuguese versions of English-language songs. A small number of Portuguese popular artists have also recorded original Christmas pop songs in Portuguese in an attempt to emulate Bublé et al.

Traditional Portuguese Christmas carols

Traditional carols (Canções de Natal), many of which date from the 18th and 19th centuries, are often sung by adult and children’s choirs during the Christmas period and, like English Christmas carols, tell the story of the birth of Christ. There is an unsubstantiated theory that King João IV of Portugal, who was an accomplished composer, wrote ‘Adeste Fideles’ (‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’), and it is sometimes referred to as the ‘Portuguese hymn’. But music historians have suggested that it is unlikely that he wrote it and the nickname probably comes from the fact that it was performed at the Portuguese embassy in London at the end of the 18th-century (one of the few places in England at that time where Catholic services could be held). The carols below are a small selection of the many you may hear if you go to a Christmas concert in Portugal during the Christmas period. There are several different versions of many of the carols, with slightly different (or even completely different) lyrics as, unlike the English ones which have been standardized in the series of books Carols for Choirs, there is no definitive version of the Portuguese carols.

‘Alegrem-se os Céus e a Terra’ (‘The Heavens and Earth Rejoice’) is a carol dating from the 18th century which is thought to have originated from the Beira Baixa region. The carol tells us to sing with joy that Jesus is born.

[[Chorus] The heavens and earth rejoice / Let us sing with joy / The Holy Infant is born / Son of theVirgin Mary / Enter shepherds, enter / Through this holy doorway / Come and adore the child / Lying on a bed of straw / [Chorus] / In Bethlehem at midnight / Midnight on Christmas Eve / Jesus was born in a manger / Wonderous without equal / [Chorus] / Oh, what a Child so wonderful / Oh, that He is so merciful / Oh, how He is so much like His mother the Virgin / [Chorus]]

[Chorus]
Alegrem-se os céus e a terra
Cantemos com alegria
Já nasceu o Deus Menino
Filho da Virgem Maria

Entrai pastorinhos, entrai
Por este portal sagrado
Vinde adorar o menino
Numas palhinhas deitado

[Chorus]

Em Belém à meia-noite
Meia-noite de Natal
Nasceu Jesus num presépio
Maravilha sem igual

[Chorus]

Ai que Menino tão Belo
Ai que tanto graça tem
Ai que tanto se parece
com a Virgem Sua mãe

[Chorus]

‘Linda Noite de Natal’ (‘Beautiful Christmas Night’) is a traditional Christmas carol originating from the Algarve region. It tells of the journey to Bethlehem and the arrival at the stable where Jesus was born.

[Beautiful Christmas night / Night of great joy / Joseph was walking / Along with Mary most holy / [Chorus] Beautiful night, beautiful night / Beautiful Christmas night / Beautiful night, beautiful night / Beautiful Christmas night / He was walking to Bethlehem / To get there by daylight / But when they arrived there / Everyone was asleep / [Chorus] / They knocked on many doors / But no one helped them / They were given somewhere to stay / Where the blessed ox were sleeping / [Chorus]]

Linda noite de Natal,
Noite de grande alegria.
Caminhava São José
Mais a sagrada Maria.

[Chorus]
Linda noite, linda noite,
Linda noite de Natal.
Linda noite, linda noite,
Linda noite de Natal.

Caminhavam p’ra Belém
Para lá chegar de dia,
Mas quando eles lá chegaram
Já toda a gente dormia.

[Chorus]

Bateram a muitas portas
Mas ninguém lhes acudia,
Foram dar a uma choupana
Onde o boi bento dormia.

[Chorus]

‘O Menino está Dormindo’ (‘The Baby is Sleeping’) is a traditional carol dating from the late-18 or early-19 century and originated in Évora in the Alentejo. The lyrics tell of the Baby Jesus sleeping while the angels sing in celebration of his birth.

[The Infant is sleeping / Naked on a bed of straw. [Repeat] / The angels are singing / ‘For love, a child so poor.’ [Repeat] / The Infant is sleeping / In the arms of the Virgin pure. [Repeat] / The angels are singing / ‘Hosanna in the highest!’ [Repeat] / The Infant is sleeping / In the arms of Joseph. [Repeat] / The angels are singing / ‘Gloria Tibi Domine! [Repeat] / The Infant is sleeping / A sleep of profound love. [Repeat] / The angels are singing / ‘Long live the Saviour of the world!’[Repeat]]

O Menino está dormindo
Nas palhinhas despidinho. [Repeat]
Os anjos Lhe estão cantando
‘Por amor, tão pobrezinho.’ [Repeat]

O Menino está dormindo
Nos braços da Virgem pura. [Repeat]
Os anjos Lhe estão cantando
‘Hossana lá na altura!’ [Repeat]

O Menino está dormindo
Nos braços de São José. [Repeat]
Os anjos Lhe estão cantando
‘Gloria Tibi Domine!’ [Repeat]

O Menino está dormindo
Um sono de amor profundo. [Repeat]
Os anjos Lhe estão cantando
‘Viva o Salvador do mundo!’ [Repeat]

‘Natal de Elvas’ (‘Elvas Christmas’) dating from the late-19th or early-20th century and originating from Elvas in the Alentejo. The song is about someone who goes to visit the Baby Jesus in the stable and asks why the child is crying.

[I shall go to the manger / And sit in a small corner / To see how the Holy Infant / Was born there so poor. / Oh, my Baby Jesus, / What is up with you, why are you crying? / My mother gave me a kiss, / I cry so that she gives me more. / Our lady is making stockings / With yarn made of light, / The ball of wool is the full moon, / The stockings are for Jesus. / The Infant cries and cries, He cries for good reason: / They made him a short bed / He has his little feet on the ground.]

Eu hei-de ir ao presépio
A assentar-me num cantinho
A ver com’o Deus Menino
Nasceu lá tão pobrezinho.

Ó meu Menino Jesus,
Que tendes, por que chorais?
Deu-me minha mãe um beijo,
Choro por que me dê mais.

Nossa Senhora faz meia
Com linha feita de luz;
O novelo é lua cheia,
As meias são pra Jesus.

O Menino chora, chora,
Chora por muita razão:
Fizeram-lhe a cama curta
Tem os pezinhos no chão.

‘Noite Feliz’ (‘Joyful Night’) is sung to the tune of ‘Silent Night’.

[Joyful night, joyful night / Oh Lord, God of love / A poor boy, born in Bethlehem / Here in the cave, our dear Jesus / Sleep in peace, oh Jesus / Sleep in peace, oh Jesus / Joyful night, joyful night / Oh, Jesus, God of light / How kind is your heart / That you wanted to be born our brother / And to save us all! / And to save us all! / Night of peace, night of love / Everything around is sleeping / Among the stars that are scattered in the sky / Indicating the Baby Jesus / Shines the star of peace / Shines the star of peace]

Noite feliz, noite feliz
Ó Senhor, Deus de amor
Pobrezinho, nasceu em Belém
Eis na lapa, Jesus nosso bem
Dorme em paz, ó Jesus
Dorme em paz, ó Jesus

Noite feliz, noite feliz
Ó Jesus, Deus de luz
Quão amável é teu coração
Que quiseste nascer nosso irmão
E a nós todos salvar!
E a nós todos salvar!

Noite de paz, noite de amor
Tudo dorme em redor
Entre os astros que espargem a luz
Indicando o Menino Jesus
Brilha a estrela da paz
Brilha a estrela da paz

Children’s Christmas songs in Portuguese

The most well-known children’s Christmas song in Portugal is ‘A Todos um Bom Natal’ (‘Merry Christmas to Everyone’). It is an earworm of a song, which gets stuck in the head a bit like ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas’. It was written in 1980 by César Batalha, the musical director of the Santo Amaro de Oeiras Choir, and his wife, Lúcia Carvalho, and every year since then when people hear this song being played from early December they know the Christmas season in Portugal has started.

[[Chorus] A merry Christmas to everyone / A merry Christmas to everyone / Let it be a merry Christmas / For all of us / Let it be a merry Christmas / For all of us / On Christmas morning / We hear the bells ringing / And there is great joy / In the air. / [Chorus] / On this Christmas morning / In every country there are / Many millions of happy / Children / [Chorus] / They leap around the house / Barefoot or in slippers / To look for their presents / So lovely / [Chorus] / Afterwards they dance in a circle / The children join hands / At Christmas everyone feels like / Brothers / [Chorus] / If this were true / For all children / It would be good to hear the bells / Ring / [Chorus]]

[Chorus]
A todos um bom Natal
A todos um bom Natal
Que seja um bom Natal
Para todos nós
Que seja um bom Natal
Para todos nós

No Natal pela manhã
Ouvem-se os sinos toca
E há uma grande alegria
No ar

[Chorus]

Nesta manhã de Natal
Há em todos os países
Muitos milhões de meninos
Felizes

[Chorus]

Vão aos saltos pela casa
Descalços ou em chinelas
Procurar as suas prendas
Tão belas

[Chorus]

Depois há danças de roda
As crianças dão as mãos
No Natal todos se sentem
Irmãos

[Chorus]

Se isto fosse verdade
Para todos os meninos
Era bom ouvir os sinos
Cantar

[Chorus]

Most other children’s Christmas songs are Portuguese translations or adaptations of well-known English-language Christmas songs, such as ‘A Rena Rodolfo’ (‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’), ‘Pinheirinho de Natal’ (‘O Christmas Tree’), ‘O Pequeno Tambor’ (‘Little Drummer Boy’) and ‘Toca o Sino Pequenino’ (‘Ring the Little Bell’) which is sung to the tune of ‘Jingle Bells’, but rather than singing a translated version of the English lyrics, one version of the song (there are several versions) has been rewritten with a more religious theme where the ‘jingle bells’ on the ‘one-horse open sleigh’ are replaced with a bell being rung in Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

[It’s Christmas, it’s Christmas / Let’s go without delay / To worship the Infant / Who was born today. / It’s Christmas, it’s Christmas / Let’s go without delay / To worship the Infant / Who was born today. / Tonight is beautiful / Amidst it and the sky / We are going to the chapel / Happily to pray. / And in ringing the bell / The little bell / The Holy Infant has come / To save us / Ring the little bell / The bell of Bethlehem / The Holy Infant is born / of the Virgin Mary. / Ring the little bell / The bell of Bethlehem / The Holy Infant is born / of the Virgin Mary. / Tonight is beautiful / Amidst it and the sky / We are going to the chapel / Happily to pray. / And in ringing the bell / The little bell / The Holy Infant has come / To save us / It’s Christmas, it’s Christmas / Let’s go without delay / To worship the Infant / Who was born today. / It’s Christmas, it’s Christmas / Let’s go without delay / To worship the Infant / Who was born today.]

É Natal, é Natal
Vamos sem demora
Adorar o Menino
que nasceu agora.

É Natal, é Natal
Vamos sem demora
Adorar o Menino
que nasceu agora.

Esta noite é bela
Entre o céu e ela
Vamos à capela
Felizes rezar.

E ao tocar o sino
Sino pequenino
Vem o Deus Menino
Para nos salvar.

Toca o sino pequenino
Sino de Belém
Já nasceu o Deus Menino
Que a senhora tem.
Toca o sino pequenino
Sino de Belém
Já nasceu o Deus Menino
Que a senhora tem.

Esta noite é bela
Entre o céu e ela
Vamos à capela
Felizes rezar.

E ao tocar o sino
Sino pequenino
Vem o Deus Menino
Para nos salvar.

É Natal, é Natal
Vamos sem demora
Adorar o Menino
que nasceu agora.

É Natal, é Natal
Vamos sem demora
Adorar o Menino
que nasceu agora.

Portuguese Christmas pop songs

There aren’t many Portuguese Christmas pop songs, but a few Portuguese musicians have attempted to make their mark on the Christmas single market. In an article in the online student newspaper ComUM, Bruna Sousa lists 12 Christmas pop songs written and performed by Portuguese artists. I have summarised Bruna’s article in English, but please click on the link to see the full article and to view videos of each song.

‘É Natal’ (‘It’s Christmas’, 1968), sung by the fado singer Fernando Farinha, describes a Portuguese Christmas which combines the secular and the religious.

‘Natal dos Simples’ (‘Christmas of the Humble’, 1968) by José Afonso tells of how the impoverished people of Beira sang songs (Janeiras) to the wealthy in return for food.

‘Um pedido de Natal’ (‘A Christmas Wish’, 1996) by José Malhoa (accompanied by other Portuguese singers such as Tony Carreira, Ágata, Luís Filipe Reis and Romana) is about people who have to be apart from each other at Christmas.

In ‘Presépio de Lata’ (‘Tin Nativity Scene’, 1998) the singer Rui Veloso offers a cynical view of the Christmas traditions, describing a tin Nativity scene with aluminium stars and cardboard angels and saying that Jesus was brought here out of a false faith.

‘Nesta Noite Branca’ (‘On This White Night’, 1999) by Anjos e Susana. This is one of the first Portuguese Christmas songs that is inspired by the commercial Christmas songs sung in English (it is reminiscent of ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham!) and is about being with a loved one rather than describing traditional Portuguese Christmases.

‘Carta Para o Pai Natal’ (‘Letter to Father Christmas’, 2005) by the rapper Boss AC, is a letter to Father Christmas asking for him to address all the injustices in the world.

‘Queixa ao Pai Natal’ (‘Complaint to Father Christmas’, 2009) by Os Azeitonas, refers to how children complain about Father Christmas when he does not give them the present they want, even though they don’t believe in him.

‘Quando Chega o Natal’ (‘When Christmas Comes’, 2011) by the group Deolinda is a cynical comment on the hypocrisy of the Christmas spirit and how everyone is expected to be nice to each other on that one day, despite ignoring them for the rest of the year.

‘O Teu Natal’ (‘Your Christmas’, 2013) by Miguel Ângelo is a love song set around Christmas.

In ‘Natal Mais Uma Vez’ (‘Christmas Once More’, 2014) Luísa Sobral sings about the impatience children feel on Christmas Eve for Christmas Day to come and when it is over they want it to be Christmas Day once more.

‘Natal na Minha Cidade’ (‘Christmas in My City’, 2016) by Os Boca do Povo, accompanied by a choir of children, is about the Christmas traditions of Braga, including toasting the season with a glass of muscatel and a banana.

‘Magia do Natal’ (‘Magic of Christmas’, 2018) is a Christmas song performed by a compilation of artists put together by the Klasszik label (including Calema, Anselmo Ralph, Anjos, Nelson Freitas and Bárbara Bandeira). The song tells us to share love with those who are alone.

Despite the variety of these Portuguese Christmas musical offerings, I think Michael Bublé’s ‘king of the Christmas song’ crown is safe and I am certain Portuguese restaurants, supermarkets and Christmas fairs will continue to play his Christmas album throughout December.

The first of December is a public holiday in Portugal which celebrates the restoration of Portuguese independence after 60 years of Spanish rule from 1580–1640. It all began when Dom Sebastião, the boy-king (he became king at the age of three) made a very misguided attack on Morocco in 1578 resulting in the 24-year-old king’s death, along with 8000 of his troops, including most of the male line of the Portuguese royal family.

This reckless act ultimately resulted in Portugal losing its independence to Spain. After Sebastião’s death his great-uncle Cardinal Henrique became king, but as he was old and childless there was a succession crisis. There were several claimants to the throne, the three main ones being grandchildren of Dom Manuel I: Felipe II of Spain; Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Bragança; and Dom António, Prior do Crato (an illegitimate son of the brother of Dom João III (Dom João III (1502–1557) was Sebastião’s grandfather and preceded Sebastião as king)). António was the popular choice and when Dom Henrique died in 1580 António became Dom António I. However, Felipe II invaded Portugal almost immediately and António fled to France allowing Felipe to take the throne and become Filipe I of Portugal.

The 60 years of Spanish rule were ultimately disastrous for Portugal. Relationships with Portugal’s two former allies, England and Holland, were broken as Portugal was seen to be associating with Spain, the enemy of both countries. The English were angry that the Spanish Armada was being equipped in Lisbon and Filipe I forbid Portugal to trade with the Dutch, resulting in the Dutch taking over the spice trade routes that Portugal had monopolized up to that point. During this time a myth, known as Sebastianismo (Sebastianism), developed around Sebastião based on an idea that he wasn’t really dead and would one day return to rule Portugal. Several men claiming to be Sebastião appeared during this time. After Filipe I’s death, the two subsequent kings, Filipe II and Filipe III, showed no interest in Portugal and spent very little time there.

The disenchanted Portuguese, led by João, the seventh Duke of Bragança (who was the grandson of the aforementioned Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Bragança), planned a coup and on 1 December 1640 they stormed the royal palace in Lisbon and assassinated the secretary to the governor. This resulted in João taking the throne and being crowned Dom João IV. However, the Spanish would not give up Portugal easily and a 28-year War of Independence was fought, which finally ended in 1668 with a Portuguese victory. During this period, Dom João IV’s daughter, Caterina (Catherine of Braganza), married King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1662, securing an alliance between England and Portugal. The House of Bragança ruled Portugal until 1910, when the last king of Portugal was assassinated and the Republic was proclaimed.

The 1st December is celebrated in Lisbon with a parade down the Avenida da Liberdade, accompanied by military bands, and a ceremony in the Praça dos Restauradores attended by politicians and the armed forces, where wreaths are placed on the ornate monument to the men who fought in the War of Independence.