Celebrating Christmas In Portugal

“You have nicely transitioned from the ‘escape’ to really belonging and finding home (in Portugal),” observed my sister in an email.

My husband Jeff and I realized she is right.

We are getting ready to celebrate our fifth Christmas in Portugal. With that comes the excitement and anticipation of traditions. What were new experiences a few years ago have now become traditions for us in Portugal.

Christmas in Portugal is all about families gathering at home on Christmas Eve, eating a light meal, going to church, returning home, enjoying leftovers turned into yummy nibble food through the morning of Christmas Day, and ultimately enjoying a feast later during Christmas Day.

No Christmas Eve in Portugal is complete without the star ingredient, bacalhau or salt cod. Bacalhau is usually eaten on Christmas Eve when families enjoy a light meal known as “Consoada.” It is up to the host to decide how to cook the bacalhau.

Some families serve pastéis de bacalhau, battered codfish fritters—the perfect finger food.

Another popular cod dish on Christmas Eve is bacalhau da Consoada, simple boiled cod with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and hard-boiled eggs, plus a drizzle of olive oil.

Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá is also a Portuguese Christmas recipe. The salt cod is cooked with potatoes and onions which are layered in a dish, topped with hard-boiled egg, baked in the oven, and finished off with olives, chopped parsley, olive oil, and a touch of garlic.

Christmas and New Year dinners for many families is cabrito assado no forno, which is juicy oven-roasted lamb and crispy roast potatoes. This is one of the most delicious of the traditional Portuguese Christmas foods. This hearty Portuguese Christmas dinner is served with a good glass of Douro red wine.

The turkey trend extends beyond the U.S. and U.K. to Portugal. In Portuguese, stuffed turkey is called peru recheado. The dish isn’t all that different from turkey as we knew it in the U.S. The recipe for turkey stuffing differs from one household to another with lots of secret family recipes. Some use vegetables, some use citrus, some use potatoes plus onions, and yet others prefer stuffing with meat. While turkey isn’t enjoyed at Christmas throughout Portugal, it has become more common as a less expensive option.

We can’t talk about Christmas without mentioning sobremesas or desserts.

Rabanadas, a tasty Portuguese Christmas recipe, is a favorite all over the country. Rabanadas are easy to find in bakeries, but also very easy to make at home. Known as a Portuguese version of French toast (but arguably better), rabanadas are made with thick slices of a white bread first soaked in mixture of milk, wine, sugar syrup, and lemon zest; then soaked in eggs; and finally fried in oil to give them a delicious golden crust before being sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Arroz doce is the Portuguese version of rice pudding and is a Christmas staple. The soft, creamy rice has a hint of lemon. The crowning touch of this dessert is the meticulous Christmas decoration of powdered cinnamon in star shapes or angels which adorns its surface.

The most traditional Christmas cake in Portugal is called Bolo Rei, which means King Cake. Although it is enjoyed throughout the Christmas holidays, it is typically placed in the center of the table on 6th January, as it is symbolic of the Three Kings. This cake, that looks like a wreath, has a bread-like consistency, and is filled with dried fruit, nuts and topped with candied fruit and icing sugar.

There is also another version that is very similar to the Bolo Rei but without candied fruit. This one is called Bolo Rainha or the Queen Cake.

Municipal Christmas light displays, Christmas markets, merry go rounds, entertainment stages and castanhas or chestnuts that are roasted over charcoal fires are found in some version in all the cities of Portugal. Each is unique. All are special. There are annual tree lighting celebrations usually on Black Friday. Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated in Portugal, but Black Friday signals the kickoff of the Holiday shopping season.

We would be remiss if we didn’t tell you about another fun Portuguese Christmas tradition we discovered in Braga. It’s a young tradition as Christmas traditions go. But it is a big, big, big tradition that is unique to Braga. The event happens on the famous Souto Street at the end of the afternoon of Christmas Eve. The festivities involve friends, family, a banana, and a glass of muscatel wine.

It started around four decades ago at the Casa das Bananas store (House of Bananas). At that time the business, belonging to Manuel Rio, was just a warehouse of bananas. Wanting to attract more customers, Senhor Rio set up a small counter where customers could drink a glass of muscatel wine. When clients requested something to comfort the stomach, the owner presented a banana.

But this unusual combination gained more popularity, thanks to Senhor Rio’s son, Jorge Rio, known as the “banana man” in Braga. Jorge met his schoolmates at the Casa das Bananas on Christmas Eve, to toast with a glass of muscatel wine, always accompanied by a banana.

Without realizing it, suddenly what was a small gathering of friends and clients, transformed, year after year, into a meeting point for all the people of Braga, rich or poor, young or old, men or women.

Braga’s Souto Street is flooded every year by thousands upon thousands of people on December 24th, from 4 to 8 pm. Folks gather at bananeiro (banana store). With a glass of muscatel wine from Setúbal, accompanied by a banana, they toast and wish a Merry Christmas to family, friends, and those they haven’t seen for some time.

Bacalhau, Family, Peru, Christmas Lights, Friends, Rabanadas, Arroz Doce, Tawny Port, Loved Ones, Bananas, Muscatel, Cabrito Assado, Christmas Markets, Vinho Tinto. All Woodruff Christmas Traditions.

A vida é boa. Life is good. Feliz Natal! Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,
Joch Woodruff
Portugal Circle