In Portugal, Christmas is spent with the family,
around the Christmas tree and the nativity scene, sharing a meal and presents.
The streets and houses are decorated with lights. The
presents are placed around the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve. Some houses have nativity
scenes and, in some places, they are also in the streets.
On Christmas Eve, families have dinner together, it’s
the Consoada.
For dinner, there is the traditional meal bacalhau
com todos (dried codfish boiled with vegetables), but in northern Portugal, it is
often replaced by octopus.
For dessert, there are cakes and sweets: arroz
doce (rice pudding with cinnamon), aletria (vermicelli
cooked in milk with cinnamon), broas de mel (little cakes with
honey), and fried desserts: filhoses (fried pumpkin
dough), sonhos (similar to filhoses but without pumpkin – the
translation of the word is literally “dreams”) and
rabanadas or fatias douradas (golden
slices of fried bread ).
And, everywhere there is the traditional Christmas
cake “Bolo-Rei” (translation: King-Cake). It is made of soft white
dough, raisins, various nuts and crystallized fruit.
At midnight or on Christmas day in the morning, we
open the presents. Today, Santa Claus (Pai Natal- Father
Christmas) is more popular but in some regions, it’s the Menino
Jesus (Baby Jesus) that brings the presents. Some religious families go
to the church at midnight, to the “Missa do Galo” ( Rooster’s Mass).
Christmas day is spent with the family, around the
table. Usually, at lunch we eat roasted meat, lamb or turkey. We spend time
together, talking, playing games or watching movies, TV ...
We keep the
Christmas tree and decorations until the 6th of January, the
Kings’ Day.
In some places, people walk around singing the
“As Janeiras”, traditional songs. It symbolizes the end of the
festivities.
Now, it’s your turn, tell us about your Christmas …
A big hug from all of us! Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal!
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