Portugal Holidays
The Portuguese just love to arrange holidays and give them all their passion. The occasion is the various days of commemoration of the saints, of whom this nation has an incredible multitude, pilgrimages, fairs and other festivals. Holidays in Portugal are not complete without deafening fireworks and national ceremonies.
Holy Week
The religious center of Portugal is Brahe. In the daytime, the city is simply beautiful: buildings are decorated with fresh flowers, and altars are erected on the streets. But with the coming of night, Brahe is transported to the deep Middle Ages: the streets are illuminated by the lights of torches, in the light of which ancient pilgrims walk, dressed in creepy black robes and with their heads covered with hoods..
The city of Ouren represents the most «alive» theatrical production of events from the Gospel. The beginning of the performance is the entrance of Jesus into holy Jerusalem, and ends with a terrifyingly realistic scene of the crucifixion, with one caveat - the actor depicting Jesus is not nailed, but tied with ropes to the cross.
Burial cod
A fun festival that takes place in Palmera and Figueira, small towns where fishing is the main production. People begin to have fun on the first Saturday after the end of Holy Week. Fasting is over and now you can pamper yourself with various goodies again..
Feast of Saint John
Residents honor this saint and celebrate his holiday vigorously. This night, various follies and jumping over the flames of a burning fire are welcomed - just the very beginning. The townspeople especially like to knock on the heads of familiar and unfamiliar people with toy hammers, so do not be alarmed if you get on the top of your head. The celebration ends with a beautiful fireworks display. The festive menu includes baked sardines, delicious soup «Kaldo Verde» and rivers of port.
Celebration of bread baskets
This is «leap holiday», which is celebrated once every 4 years. The city is transforming into a real flower garden. All the girls take part in a grand procession accompanied by piper musicians.
On their heads, women carry beautifully decorated baskets filled with loaves of bread. By the way, the weight of each «decorations» reaches 22 kg, so men accompany girls, helping them to maintain balance.
At the end of the procession, carts filled with meat and wine move. The horns of the bulls harnessed to them are covered with gilding and decorated with colored ribbons.
Big Fadu Night
The Portuguese are very fond of music and fado - their invention. The name of the genre comes from the Latin word «fate», what does destiny mean. Destiny expressed in music is Fado's Big Night.
The basis of any work in this genre is a real story, presented in the form of four-line stanzas. Accompanied by a classical musical instrument of the country «portugueso».
