Christmas in Portugal
Sorry for the lack of illustrating pictures, but this year the Christmas was a bit of a run, with both our families having the Christmas lunch in our place, me being the cook.
This Christmas was highway and kitchen for Good Half and me.
Highway on Saturday the 24th to spend Christmas Eve with GH’s grandma, in her uncle’s place, then driving back south to get things ready for next day’s lunch.
Some of you have asked about Christmas traditions here in Portugal.
Every house must have a Christmas tree and a "presépio" (a nactivity scene, usually made of clay figures), usually set up in early December. Some people are also trying to emulate the American tradition of placing lights on the outside of their homes, makes as much sense as giving up traditional food and have Macdonald's for Christmas if you ask me.
On the Christmas Eve people usually have a special dinner preceded by loads of Portuguese cheeses, cured meats and smoked sausages plus lots of assorted finger food (puff pastry, fried meatballs, etc...) and shell fish.
The dinner itself is usually codfish (cooked in over a thousand different ways), followed by roasted pork, turkey or lamb. When you think you are through with eating there comes dessert, with baked apples, rice pudding, bolo rei (special Portuguese Christmas cake), lampreia de ovos (a fish-shaped cake made with strings of candy egg yolk, unique), an assortment of traditional fried dough sweets, several more cakes and puddings.
To get digestion going, people in big cities usually go out for a stroll and check out the Christmas decorations in town. In rural communities it is costumary to light a huge bonfire in front of the main church and keep it afire until New Year’s Day.
Later on Christmas Eve most families attend the midnight mass and then go back to their homes to eat some more desserts and open their prezzies. Kids who go to bed early will open their prezzies early morning on Christmas day.
The Christmas lunch is pretty much the same as the Christmas Eve dinner.
Sadly, for some, Christmas is not the traditional plentiful festival, some have little to eat if anything, fortunately some NGO's and even some private companies provide special dinners and lunches for those in need.
GH and I are going back to work for one such NGO on our spare time, btw.
Tags:Portugal
This Christmas was highway and kitchen for Good Half and me.
Highway on Saturday the 24th to spend Christmas Eve with GH’s grandma, in her uncle’s place, then driving back south to get things ready for next day’s lunch.
Some of you have asked about Christmas traditions here in Portugal.
Every house must have a Christmas tree and a "presépio" (a nactivity scene, usually made of clay figures), usually set up in early December. Some people are also trying to emulate the American tradition of placing lights on the outside of their homes, makes as much sense as giving up traditional food and have Macdonald's for Christmas if you ask me.
On the Christmas Eve people usually have a special dinner preceded by loads of Portuguese cheeses, cured meats and smoked sausages plus lots of assorted finger food (puff pastry, fried meatballs, etc...) and shell fish.
The dinner itself is usually codfish (cooked in over a thousand different ways), followed by roasted pork, turkey or lamb. When you think you are through with eating there comes dessert, with baked apples, rice pudding, bolo rei (special Portuguese Christmas cake), lampreia de ovos (a fish-shaped cake made with strings of candy egg yolk, unique), an assortment of traditional fried dough sweets, several more cakes and puddings.
To get digestion going, people in big cities usually go out for a stroll and check out the Christmas decorations in town. In rural communities it is costumary to light a huge bonfire in front of the main church and keep it afire until New Year’s Day.
Later on Christmas Eve most families attend the midnight mass and then go back to their homes to eat some more desserts and open their prezzies. Kids who go to bed early will open their prezzies early morning on Christmas day.
The Christmas lunch is pretty much the same as the Christmas Eve dinner.
Sadly, for some, Christmas is not the traditional plentiful festival, some have little to eat if anything, fortunately some NGO's and even some private companies provide special dinners and lunches for those in need.
GH and I are going back to work for one such NGO on our spare time, btw.
Tags:Portugal
posted by DCveR at 12:15 AM
10 Comments:
We did/ate all of these things! (minus having the bonfire, that is)
Boas Festas!!
Hope your Christmas was wonderful, traveling and all!
Interesting....we ate sloppy joes, cheesy potatoes and pretty much nixed the sweets. Your food sounds much better! Usually we play games on Christmas, as well. This year I got mad at my exhusband who attended the festivities and left early. Which is too bad because he made a huge gaffe while playing, I guess. I could have used the laugh at him!
As in Portugal, people in Poland usually go the midnight mass (it's called 'pasterka'), gift-time is right after the dinner, the rest is in my blog :]
Ow btw. the tradition says that it has to be 12 dishes, hay under the tablecloth and one extra tableware set for the unexpected guest.
Ow, another btw: my opinion about lights on the houses is the same as yours, it's nice, but a bit out of place.
Great insight into Portuguese tradition, DC...
So much to eat just like in the UK but the meal sounds very good!
A great selection, indeed!
Glad we're only back at work Wednesday! Needed the rest after the festivities!
Mmm... Makes me hungry...
Feliz Natal e novo ano!
isis: I hope next year I am a guest somewhere at a relative's place, rather than the host again... it is quite demanding to keep everybody sated...
glitzy: It was a nice Christmas, not a perfect one I'd say, but still a quite nice one. We've no reason to complain. Hope yours was at least as good.
bunny jo: Games? What kind of games?
shyha: Already dropped by to read the rest. That extra table place sounds quite familiar.
cream: It's great that one of us is allowed some time to rest. Hope you do enjoy the break.
viking: Também para você! Hope 2006 brings the two of you together.
portuguesa: The bonfire is only common in small countryside villages. Hope you've enjoyed all the rest, isn't the food just great here? All the best for you and António. Hope 2006 turns out to be a great year for you.
I've been hopping around, checking out how other folks celebrate Christmas. Delightful!
I think yours is the first mention of the nativity scene, Dcver.
All this food is making me hungrrrryyyy.
GG: At first these scenes were comissioned to artists and only royalty could afford them, but soon they became quite widespread here. There was a theory they were replicas of Italian nactivity scenes but experts have found the oldest scenes in Europe have been made here after all.
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