Christmas Traditions 3

What is Christmas?

Today Christmas is celebrated around the world; traditions vary from country to country, from religion to religion. For Christians, Christmas means the birth of Jesus Christ, but either to themselves or to others, Christmas provides the meeting with family and friends around the table for Christmas, happily sharing a meal. In Portugal, Christmas is celebrating on December 25 (date set as the day of the birth of Christ).

Christmas Trees

In Portugal, the tradition of Christmas Trees is new. In our country, the Nativity Scene has long been the only decoration of Christmas. The Christmas Tree is done with our family, under it have to be the Christmas presents; which will be open to midnight on December 24. At the root of the habit of offering gifts on Christmas Eve, happened as a way to remember the offerings of the three wise men to baby Jesus.

Portugal has the largest tree for Christmas in Europe

The Nativity Scene

The Nativity Scene happens in a (estábulo), and it’s an artistic representation of the birth of Baby Jesus, Virgin Mary, S. Joseph, a cow and a donkey. In the year 1223, S. Francis of Assis decided to celebrate the Mass of Christmas Eve in a different way: a cave transported to a donkey and a cow, and put pictures of the baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, with the aim of showing the people of Assis the circumstances in which Jesus was born. Today, tradition is arming the Nativity scene at Christmas.

Human nativity scene

The Mass of the Rooster

The Mass of the Rooster is the name given in Catholic countries to the Mass celebrated after the Christmas Eve dinner that begins at midnight from 24 to Dec.25

It name enshrines the legend according to which

at midnight on December 24 a rooster would have sung, announcing the coming of the Messiah.

Traditionally, after Mass, the families go home, put the image of the Infant Jesus in the Nativity scene, distributing gifts and share the Supper of Christmas.

Consoada

The consoada is the dinner of December 24.On December 24 in the eve of Christmas day, when all the family is sitting around the dining table and eating a meal enhanced. The meals varies from religion to religion.

After dinner , families sing songs of Christmas around the tronco (a large bonfire) in the churchyard.

tronco (a large bonfire)Table for Christmas

Bolo Rei

Christmas in different regions in Portugal

Christmas in Trás-os-Montes

The Christmas in Trás-os-Montes is different from any other Christmas in the world. The tortuous paths of the mountain communities remained at a safe distance and allowed the survival of ancient customs

of the region.

The Boys festival, which occurs throughout the Northeast Transmontano around the holidays, as a living memory of ancestral rites, with some variants of land on earth.

For two days, the boys singles command to life in the village. The festival, which originated in pagan rituals of winter solstice, celebrating the beginning of a new agricultural cycle, beginning with the days getting longer and, for boys also means the passage to adulthood.

The festival starts from morning, it wakes with gaiter to the entire village with its harmonica-of-bellows.

The stewards, responsible for organizing the party,

walk the streets visiting all the neighbors. The following are the “caretos", strange creatures

wearing bizarre costumes, with rattles and ribbons hanging and displaying diabolical masks.

Dance, and make big uproar.

Today everything is permitted them, and behind the mask which protects the identity and commit the greatest scurrility, frightened and torment the children all present.

They are only kinder to the elderly.

Without any ceremony, invading the homes where steal chouriços, pudding, meat, smoke, dried figs and bread to join the party.

All the delicacies, is the banquet, put on a big table in the churchyard.

`` Caretos ´´

what people eat in consoada and on the day of Christmas?

People eat Migas Doces , Cabrito, Leitão,Aletria and Rabanadas…

Cabrito Migas Aletria

Christmas in Minho On the Christmas day morning, the children agree to the birth

of the day, can not contain the excitement, and run for the fireplace. In sapatinho there are a present left by the baby Jesus, and rip grasping the roles of packages, looking forward to new toy.

The Nativity scene or took days to make, has a place in the

home and is visited by all who pass that way. Begins trip to the mountain. Get up to put the moss, cones and pebbles and an tree. It is true build miniature villages, populated with figures heading into the cave of the Child Jesus, located in the highest point.

The pine is currently ornaments with Eye of Christmas balls, was covered in chocolate, tied in twine, bought in the sale and leaving the factory The Viennese, which still exists.

At lunch eats up the roupa velha, made from the remains of consoada and passes to the day as a family, making preparations for the dinner.

Women's home stretch on the table linen embroidered the towel, inherited from the grandmother and that only leaves the cabinet on special occasions, the best dishes, the glasses of "see God" and candlesticks.

The table is gaining life with decorations, fruit of creativity that the occasion arises. Spread out almonds, hazelnuts, figs, raisins and ornaments themselves with branches of holly, ribbons or colored papers brilliant, because it is most important feast day of the year.

Christmas dinner of mandatory in, roast and, in some places, stuffed with puree of chestnuts. The turkey, though recent fashion in lands of Entre Douro e Minho, has become presence.

The following is a feast of several homemade jams, of course, that fill the table of color. There is no diet that is scrambled from the milk or wine, the noodles, the French toast in syrup, or with sweet egg, rice-sweet, the cake-king, the sponge cake, milk, cream, the sweet of Gila, or to jerimu of cookies or pumpkin

What people eat in consoada and Christmas day?

In Minho: Consoada of cod (bacalhau da Consoada), octopus stew, dumplings of cod accompanied by esparregado of nabiças.

Cod Octopus dumplings of cod

Cakes, pastries and fried foods such as fresh

noodles, scrambled for Christmas, golden soup, dumplings of jerimu, French toast, dreams, filhoses and vinho quente (hot wine).

Filhoses Dreams

By night, cozy up to the stomach, serves up the traditional hot wine. Usually prepared with the good will of one of the men of the house, is just green red, boiled with honey and cinnamon stick, which is in hot drink cups of tea

Vinho quente (Hot Wine)

Christmas in Algarve

Preparations for the Christmas in saw and in

the Barrocal region shall begin early this month(December), with the “deitar dos trigos” (bed of wheat). In small dishes of clay, throw to the ground, germinate the seeds, wheat, barley, lentils, lupins or vetches, which will form the "searinhas.“

Until the "consoada", will emerge "viçosos", the shoots of cereals, which are then use as ornament of the Nativity scene, if you like call, by analogy with other Christmas decorations.

Another ritual of the Christmas festivities is the offering of gifts.

This custom, in the Algarve, is particularly associated with dried fruit and the products of killing the pig, and the "fumeiros", assurance of food during the harsh winter and until it was beginning a new cycle of crops with the slices of bread already hardened to transform themselves into "Rabanadas" (French toast), after being wrapped in egg, milk, fried and sprinkled sugar and cinnamon.

For filhoses, just a little more work just the mass of bread.

What eat people in Consoada and Christmas day?

People eat galinha de cabidela, galinha cerejada

or ensopado de galo .

Galinha de Cabidela Ensopado de galo

The desserts are doces fritos, filhós, pasteis de batata-doce, azevias and fatias douradas.

Filhós Azevias Fatias Douradas

Christmas in Alentejo

In Alentejo eat after "Missa do Galo" (Mass of the Rooster). At the table for Christmas could not miss the fried pork, but the cod with cabbage is present.

Porco Frito Bacalhau

The selection of desserts and cakes is huge and very sweet: nougat, flounder, brinhóis, children and other fried, sprinkled cinnamon and sugar or honey with irrigation.

Brinhóis Fried with Honey

Christmas in Açores and Madeira

In the islands of Madeira and the Azores, the

Christmas traditions also have different characteristics, but always in the spirit of the Portuguese people.

Wood, the preparations for this special event are already beginning on the day of "Nossa Senhora da Conceição", and this year's court is so important in the life of the people who will Madeira traditionally known as the “festival”

“Nossa Senhora da Conceição”

The typical dish is the meat in wine and garlic that is accompanied by potatoes and skipped spring onions from marinade. The leg of pork roast in the oven and roast beef are other specialties of this block of the year.

For dessert, the famous honey cake of the family cake. To accompany this cake, nothing better than a cup of licor.

Family Cake

Honey Cake

Licor

Work done by:

• Ana Rafaela nº1 11ºB• Rita David nº2 11ºB• Tatiana Morais nº 16 11ºB