The Holidays

We really missed spending the holidays with our family, of course, but we still managed to enjoy our first holiday season as expats/immigrants in Portugal. It started with a big, traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Bar of Soap that was attended by about 60 people (expats and some locals) who dined in two seatings. It was very festive.

The most delightful surprise to us about Christmas here was how non-commercial it is when compared to the USA. Cities and towns decorate, but lights are not switched on until the very end of November. And then it is a big event with concerts and parades. I certainly didn’t miss the days when I owned gift stores and we had to put up our Xmas decorations the day after Halloween! Gifts are traditionally exchanged in Portugal, but most families keep gifts and spending modest. You don’t see nearly as much advertising about Christmas shopping on TV or elsewhere. Most of the emphasis is on spending time with family and friends and having big, traditional meals together. Private homes don’t do outside decorations as in the States. There are very few places to buy a real Christmas tree. The only long lines we saw were at the bakeries on Christmas Eve where locals buy their Bolo Rei (king cake.) It’s a lighter version of a fruit cake with more nuts, usually. It is not the inedible brick your grandma used to have. The season is all very wholesome and family-focused.

We had several events with other expats and friends including a couple of gift exchanges. We hosted a small gathering of friends at our apartment for a non-traditional Christmas luncheon of “comfort” foods including meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, and chocolate cake. On Christmas Day, after weeks of more rain than sun, we were blessed with sunny skies and a high of 68 degrees so we were able to have drinks on our rooftop terrace.

We had a lot of rain in December which made getting photos somewhat of a challenge, but it did not dampen the holiday spirit and just made us appreciate it even more when the sun finally came out near the end of the month.

Matosinhos Christmas lights and our street parade…

Porto city lights & sights…

We took the train to Lisboa to see the lights there…

The Santa in the video above was the driver of one of the many city trams which was decorated. He jumped off at this stop to hug some kids and buy a coffee before hopping back on. If you watch, you can see him give a coffee to a passenger on the tram.

Christmas Day luncheon:

New Year’s Eve in Porto:

The Português people really get into the New Year’s Eve holiday! There are free concerts and lots of fireworks downtown by the city hall. In spite of the cold, lots of folks party outside into the wee hours. There are also many options for big, fancy parties at clubs and restaurants.

The locals have many New Year’s rituals and superstitions. The most common ones we’ve heard about are:
1. You should be wearing new underwear – most say blue – for good fortune and harmony. Other colors can be chosen for different purposes like red for love, white for peace, green for health, yellow for financial success, or brown for career success. (If our 2020 sucks, blame it on my old, dingy beige undies.)
2. At the stroke of 12 you should be standing on something high (like a chair.)
3. You should have money in your hand or pockets for a prosperous year ahead. Others say there should be one bill in your shoe that you then spend first in the New Year.
4. You eat a raisin and make a wish for each of the 12 strikes of the midnight bell, then toast with bubbly but do not cross glasses. Keep the cork until the next year.
5. Of course many say eating chocolate is also good luck. Not going to argue with them.
6. After, step down from the chair on your right foot first.
7. Some say you should jump on your right foot three times without spilling your bubbly then you toss it behind you without looking. (What a waste!)
8. If you have something old and broken (think old vase), you should toss it out the window at midnight. (Please don’t do this from the 10th floor.) Also, your house should be clean and uncluttered. This represents unburdening yourself of things in your life that are broken.
9. Bang some pots and pans at midnight out the window to scare off evil.
10. Start the new year with clean sheets on the bed for a good love life.
11. Don’t eat poultry for your last meal of the year or all good luck will fly away.
12. On New Year’s Day, you should wear something new (preferably blue) and you should put on things that are pulled up (like socks) first.
13. Avoid arguments of any kind on the first day of the year to set the tone for the whole year.
14. It is also customary to jump into the cold ocean on New Year’s Day! (I thought only Lake Michigan people were that crazy!) There were large groups scheduled to do it in towns up and down our coast. We did not get up and out early enough to see large groups, but saw a few (below.)

We watched the amazing fireworks show in Porto. The area was packed with people, but, as always, the crowd was polite and friendly – in spite of the thousands of popping corks! We managed to sip some bubbly and eat our raisins. I hauled my tripod & camera, but it was just too crowded for anything but iPhone pictures & videos. Unfortunately, they just don’t do justice to how beautiful it all was. The light show lasted about 30 minutes and there was confetti everywhere.