Easter in Portugal is a much different affair than elsewhere, much more than bunnies and chocolate eggs. During the Holy Week period from 14th April to 21st April 2019 in this traditionally Catholic country, there is a plethora of religious traditions and rituals in every town and village to mark the end of Lent and commemorate the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If you go to Portugal for the Easter holidays in 2019, these are some of the most popular and typical traditions you will encounter:
The compasso
‘Compasso’ is the name of the trooping from house to house by a little group of people which takes place in many small towns at this time of year. These groups are typically led by the local priest who carries a cross round to the neighbours’ houses to announce the news of Jesus’s resurrection. Those families who are willing to receive this compasso put a rug made of flowers outside their door and walk around it to kiss the statue of Christ on the cross.
Easter Sunday
This is the day when the resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated around Portugal, with various traditional activities taking place throughout the day. One such tradition is the priest’s visit to people’s homes, carrying a statue of Jesus for people to kiss. This only really happens in small villages these days and not so much in larger towns.
What does happen in almost all towns and cities, though, are the processions and theatrical representations of the Passion of the Christ. The most curious procession is probably the one with the Virgin Mary on a donkey, which takes place in Braga in the north of the country. The figurine of the Virgin goes around the whole city on a donkey’s back.
The Folar
The national celebrations wouldn’t be complete without the folar, a type of sweet or savoury bread with a hard-boiled egg in the middle which represents the resurrection of Christ. As tradition dictates, many children go round to their godparents’ house to be served the folar, an Easter delicacy which symbolises friendship, union and reconciliation.
The cod which is also typically eaten on Good Friday comes from the Portuguese Easter tradition of not eating meat on that day. There are many other typical foods that are eaten at Eastertime in Portugal.
However and wherever you spend your Easter in Portugal in 2019, you’re sure to have an unforgettable time.
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