Bom Ano Novo a todos! | Happy New Year Everyone!
Let’s find out what the January traditions in Portugal are. So January is here and as is tradition worldwide, New Year’s Day is celebrated on January 1st, marking the beginning of a new year. It’s also a bank holiday in Portugal as in many countries. It’s a welcome rest after all the celebrations!
January 1st is often seen as the beginning of a new phase. This gives many people a strong sense of motivation, reflecting the desire to change habits and achieve new goals. This feeling is intended to last throughout the year. (but for some it only lasts till the next morning!)
To read about some of the traditions observed in Portugal on New Year’s Eve/Day, please click here.
Dia de Reis (King’s Day) – Epiphany
Dia de Reis (King’s Day) is a Catholic holiday celebrated annually on the night of January 5th to 6th. It celebrates the end of Christmas and also the arrival of the Three Wise Men, or Three Kings. Belchior, Balthazar and Gaspar arrived at the stable where Jesus was born, bringing Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Although not a bank holiday, it is mostly celebrated at home with family. The family meal is very similar to the Christmas Eve meal, such as cod with boiled potatoes, rabanadas (Portuguese “French” toast), sonhos (Portuguese doughnuts), pão-de-ló (sponge cake) and of course Bolo-Rei (Portuguese King’s cake) or Bolo Rainha (Portuguese Queen cake). In some homes the favoured accompanying drink is jeropiga.
In Portugal we don’t exchange gifts on this day like in Spain, mirroring the gift-giving to baby Jesus. Pai Natal (Father Christmas) took this aspect over and celebrated on the 24th of December. As far as other traditions for this day, in some places on the night of 5th January, it is still common for children to leave their shoes by the window or door with straw, grass, and/or carrots in them for the Wise men’s camels. The Three Kings usually return the gesture by replacing the camel treats with sweets and cakes for the kids. All the Christmas decorations come down the next day.
In this video, I go through the pronunciation of the expressions associated with the January traditions in Portugal.
Signing the Charolas, Janeiras and Cantares de Reis
These are organized group traditions, inherited from pagan times, and exist today in many European countries. They are known throughout the country as “Janeiras”, “Cantares dos Reis” and in the Algarve as “Charolas”.
Traditionally these groups of men and women would gather and go out into the streets or door to door, between New Year’s Day and King’s Day. Come would even start straight after Christmas. The main objective was singing for alms and the leftovers of the Christmas, New Year’s and King’s Day meals. After the songs were finished, the singers would wait for the homeowners to give them the “Janeiras” – traditionally – nuts, apples, chestnuts, chouriço, etc.
Nowadays, for practical reasons gifts have changed into chocolates and/or money. The tradition has also stretched to the whole month of January. In some regions, the groups will still go door to door and in others, regions organized venues are the place to see them. To read more about this tradition click here.
I hope you enjoyed the January traditions in Portugal and Thank you for reading!
Bom Ano Novo! Happy New Year!