Halloween In Portugal

The people in Portugal have a special time to honor life and death from late October to early November. They have Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. These three interrelated days of his occur almost simultaneously, and their relationships and differences can be confusing. Let’s explain.
Christian churches in Portugal traditionally celebrated Halloween as a day when believers fasted and prepared before the feast of All Saints Day. This day is celebrated on November 1, followed by All Spirits Day on November 2 (the next day). The combination of these three holy days is known as Allhallowtide.
Simply put, Christians commemorate All Saints Day of all known and unknown Christian saints. But this feast is much more than that: All Saints’ Day has a rich history and tradition.
Where did All Saints Day come from? What is the true origin of All Saints Day? How was it initially celebrated hundreds of years ago? How is it observed around the world? And how is All Saints Day celebrated in Portugal?
The Beginning: A Celtic Holiday
Halloween, or “All Hallow’s Eve,” is the night before All Saints’ Day (Holy means saint). Some researchers say it started to evolve from the ancient Celtic holiday Samhain, celebrated on October 31. This Thanksgiving marked the beginning of winter. Samhain was the Celtic Prince of Death, and his name literally meant the end of summer.
Since winter was often associated with darkness, death, and cold, the Celts quickly associated it with human death.
His October 31, also known as the Eve of Samhain, was the time of Celtic pagan sacrifices. It was believed that the veil separating the worlds of the living and dead was at its thinnest during this period. That was when Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to the living. Ghosts, elves, fairies, and goblins have returned, hunting down and kidnapping those who had previously harmed them. To ward off the spirits, locals wore costumes and lit communal bonfires. Druids (priests) also made burnt offerings of grain, animals, and even people. They then examined each victims cremated remains to predict what would happen in the following year. Even today, on Halloween, some people greet each other with “Samhain Blessings.”
Does Portugal Have Halloween?
Contrary to what many people think, Halloween is not just an American invention. Long before the country even existed, October 31 was already celebrated in European countries.
Portuguese Halloween wasn’t about dressing up and eating sweets. The country has known the tradition of All Saints’ Day for centuries, and even before Christianity, the Celts Samhain had a special cult for the supernatural.
All Saints Day and Halloween are 2 very separate concepts in Portugal. It wasn’t so long ago that Portugal rarely celebrated Halloween, but especially in big cities like Lisbon and Porto, celebrating parties and special events helped them embrace the modern culture of spending time on Halloween. All Saints Day, on the other hand, is the concept of remembering the dead on November 1.
On Halloween, Portugal celebrates Halloween just like England and America. As part of the trick-or-treating tradition, children go door-to-door asking people for treats and treats. Interestingly, in some parts of Portugal, there are children who answer the door asking for bread. De Deus” and various other names. In addition to sweets, children can expect cakes, chestnuts, and fruit biscuits.
They also do the usual carving of pumpkins, a Halloween tradition that is quite popular in Portugal, especially in parts of Portugal like Beira. The pumpkins are named after the legendary monster Coca.

How Is Halloween Celebrated?
The celebration of Halloween in and around Portugal is similar in traditions and beliefs to those from other Celtic nations. For example, Sideos hosts the Festa da Cabra festival, featuring traditional dances and various characters in costumes.
Despite all the traditions Halloween brings, there is always another way to celebrate Halloween in Portugal. Mainly because it is celebrated in different regions that are very spread out. However, the obvious tradition of November 1 is All Saints Day.
All Saints’ Day and Halloween are celebrated on a very different scales. Simply because All Saints’ Day is an opportunity to clean the graves and beds of relatives’ cemeteries, this day is a very important day in the Portuguese calendar, and the locals fill the cemeteries with the aim of keeping the graves of their relatives shiny and clean. They use bleach to keep their rest areas clean, and the smell can be detected from a distance.
During the cleanup, it’s popular to find florists who sell flower heads for those who want to revive their graveyard plants. They also serve traditional Portuguese snacks for the volunteers at the cemetery. All this happens while some services are going on around the cemetery.
Halloween in Portugal Although it doesn’t get much attention across the country, All Saints’ Day is celebrated all over Portugal, where local communities come together and rejoice so that their loved ones may rest in peace after their passing.
Portugal today is characterized by sunny days, an age of sailing, and good food, but the interior has dark traditions.
Portuguese Halloween Traditions Celebrations
Discover the Portuguese traditions of October 31 that have been passed down from generation to generation and are still alive today.
Festa da Cabra e do Canhoto – Bragança
Portuguese Halloween, known locally as the Celtic Dark Season Celebration, is also celebrated near Bragança in the northeast of the country. Festa da Cabra e do Canhoto is a festival held in Balanceza. On October 31, bonfires are lit, and Celtic rituals are re-enacted. The village of Cidões has some of the spookiest Halloween traditions.
Festa da Cabra e do Canhoto (Festival of the Goats and Devils) is a legacy of the Celtic traditions that lived in the area hundreds of years ago.
To celebrate the end of the clear season, giant bonfires are lit at night when natural energies are said to communicate with each other. The devil is roasted in it, and his wife, the goat, is boiled. As part of the festival, goats are served for dinner to medieval music and Celtic dances.

Vilar dos Perdizes – Night Of The Witches At Montalegre
Portugal’s far north and inland Halloween traditions are still one of his most vibrant today. Every Halloween night, the 400 inhabitants of Villar de Perdizez hold a large traditional witch-burning festival. Noite dos Fatos is celebrated in Vilar de Perdizes. During this special celebration, boys steal straws and go to the hills and shout to ward off ghosts, witches and demons. It is the best at festivals where witches dance.
This is almost the largest tourist opportunity in the small village of Villar de Perdizez, the municipality of Montalegre in Spain.
But as the Portuguese newspaper Publico put it, the origin of the tradition lies in burning witches to ward off evil. So don’t miss it! Luckily, the party repeats every Friday, the 13th of every year as well. To soothe yourself, witches are no longer burned these days. But it’s a good time to get to know the area and its cuisine.
Pão por Deus (God’s Bread)
This is similar to trick or treating. In fact, at Bread for God, even children go door to door asking for this Bread for God. This bread was served in honor of the deceased, or at least when the tradition began.
This tradition began after the devastating earthquake that hit Lisbon in 1755, leaving many people speechless. These people had to beg for bread on November 1 (the day of such an earthquake) and the day after that to survive.
Since then, the tradition of bread for the gods has been celebrated in different parts of the country on November 1 each year.
Other names for Pão por Deus
This tradition also has other names, such as “Dia do Bolinho” (“Day of the Cookie”), “Fiéis de Deus” (“Followers of God”), and “Santorinho”. Called. Name.
Children who used to eat nothing but bread can now get a lot of things. Adults give baked goods, chocolates, candies, nuts, fruits, and even money.
Respect For The Dead
In true Portuguese tradition, the dead are honored each year by cleaning the graves of the cemetery, laying flowers, and offering prayers. Outside the cemetery, there are often street vendors selling flowers and Portuguese delicacies. November 1 is also a day to commemorate the 100,000 souls of his presumed dead in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

What Do Children Like To Do On Halloween In Portugal?
Of course, they are children, so there is more than one way to enjoy the holiday. Some kids enjoy trick-or-treating and dressing up, while others prefer to sit at home and watch their favorite cartoons, and that’s fine.
Most kids enjoy dressing up. Some families also like to have themed parties for their children’s friends to enjoy together.You’ll find that Lisbon and Porto have more young people dressed up than other regions. This is mainly due to the large number of expats in these two cities.
Ask your child what they would like to do and take them to a children’s Halloween party or disco. Or you can host your neighbors and invite them over for a nice potluck dinner.
What Do Adults Like To Do On Halloween In Portugal?
Quite a few parties are held each year for adults looking for Halloween entertainment. For those of you who don’t have children to attend to or need help getting dressed, parties are a great way to get out and have fun!
But hey, you can be a parent and join in the excitement.
Many adults, whether they have children or not, love to decorate their homes inside and out as part of the celebration. Get ready to party by decorating and making Halloween-inspired drinks.
It’s time to watch all the scary movies you’ve been putting off. If you’re a mystery fanatic, you can even visit spooky locations around town with your friends…but practice security.
Let me tell you a little more about the party we were talking about.
All Saints’ Day Celebrations In Portugal
November 1, also known as Dia de Todos os Santos, is an important day in the Portuguese calendar, but Halloween is not. If you want to go trick-or-treating in spooky costumes, you will be terribly disappointed. The general public in Portugal does not celebrate Halloween. At least not in America. Still, the country has regional celebrations that can be considered similar in theme to Halloween.
However, times have changed, and Halloween is being celebrated more and more in the main cities of Portugal. If you want to dress up and go to a Halloween party, there are probably some events you can attend. And with good reason, celebrate when you can!
As with all celebrations in Portugal, families gather around a table on All Saints’ Day to eat seasonal foods and snacks. Roasted chestnuts and sweetbread raisins, almonds, and honey.
Don’t be surprised if your neighbors invite you to celebrate this festival with them. She is not expected to bring more than one of her Obrigado/a. A bottle of wine or a snack is a hearty gesture if you want to say thank you for the invitation. Done and lasted for a week. This also marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year. In anticipation of the coming winter, families gathered to harvest grain. After the harvest was over, a large bonfire was lit, and the Druid priests offered prayers. The Celts believed that the spirits of the dead would return to visit the living during this time.
Pope Gregory III, 8th century. A calendar to stay away from pagan celebrations. Therefore, All Saints’ Day was moved from May 13 to his previous October 31 to November 1, making it the eve of All Saints’ Day. The word Halloween is a portmanteau of Hallow and Eve, meaning Hallow and Eve.
So how are you going to celebrate the Feast of the Saints or Todos os Santos Day this year? Will you stick to the general commemoration of All Saints Day?
On All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, cemeteries fill with families leaving fresh flower arrangements, lighting candles, and cleaning loved ones’ tombstones and resting places. Traditionally, in some areas, children would go door-to-door asking for sweets known as bread for the gods, carving gourds named after the mythical monster coca, and eating cinnamon for him. I eat cakes and chestnuts.

Conclusion
In recent years, towns and cities have been hosting parties and events similar to the parties common in the United States and England. Shops have customs and themed dishes, and depending on where in Portugal you live, trick-or-treating customers will come!
Portuguese Halloween fans won’t be disappointed when they move here. The sunny southern European country hides a scary tradition on October 31. In this article, learn about the main traditions celebrated at Halloween in Portugal and how to enjoy them.
See where there’s room for fear, tricks, and treats in the Portuguese city.