In Portugal, the main festivities celebrated are Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Here are some aspects of them!
Food
Celebrations for Christmas include typically two meals: the dinner on the 24th of December also known as "Ceia de Natal" and the Christmas lunch on the 25th.
Many recipes prepared on these occasions are traditional dishes,
The typical dishes of these meals and also some New Years' celebrations are different across the country but some of the most common are boiled codfish or octopus served with boiled potatoes, egg, and vegetables like cabbage, roasted turkey, or lamb.
Desserts and sweets are also part of the Portuguese tradition, with specialties made specifically in this season, many of them decorated with cinnamon and sugar and made with eggs or fried batter, such as "sonhos", "filhós", "rabanadas", "aletria", "sericaia" and "azevias", to name a few.
The most known symbol of Christmas food is "Bolo Rei" - "king cake", a dessert made with dried and crystallized fruits. We also eat sponge cake - "pão de ló", often with a special cheese, "Queijo da Serra" and some people like to drink Port wine or other spirited wines or beverages.
Family Traditions
For most, Christmas is mostly about spending time with your family members and gathering them around the table. Usually, extended families share one or both of these meals. Gifts are exchanged after them, as a way of showing affection and friendship for the person to whom the gift is offered.
The children write letters with their dream presents and the gifts for kids are brought by Santa Claus ("Pai Natal") or Baby Jesus in between Christmas Eve and the morning of the 25th. If there are small children in the family, someone might dress up as Santa Claus to hand them the gifts.
Besides opening gifts, playing games, singing/dancing to Christmas songs, watching movies or live shows on TV, and of course, eating, are the main activities of these family times, that might include using themed clothes or accessories.
Religion
Although we are an increasingly multicultural and interfaith territory, Roman Catholic Christianism is still the main religion in the country and the one that inspires most of the Holiday traditions. So, for example, on Christmas Eve, on the 24th, some people go to the "Rooster Mass" at midnight, a celebration of the birth of Jesus in the church, more common among older generations. On Christmas Day, there is also a special mass that close family attends together and the Pope's message is live-streamed on TV.
Symbols
Christmas Trees can be found in most living rooms and windows but also in institutions and public spaces everywhere. Cities decorate their streets with lights with symbols like bells, stars, mistletoe, snowflakes, Santa Claus, Baby Jesus, messages, etc.
Porto's Christmas Tree Inauguration 2018 | Credits: Filipa Brito
It is also very common for people or cities to have Nativity Scenes or Baby Jesus in display, with yearly exhibitions and contests taking place all over the country. We even have Europe's largest live nativity scene, with 30.000m2, in Priscos.