If you spend December in Lisbon or Porto, you’ll notice people quietly clutching strips of coloured paper, comparing numbers in cafés and kiosks. That’s the Lotaria Clássica de Natal, Portugal’s Classic Christmas Lottery, and it’s much more than a quick flutter. It’s a once‑a‑year event that sits at the heart of the festive season.
What is the Lotaria Clássica and how it works
The Christmas Lottery is a special annual edition of the wider Lotaria Clássica, created back in 1955. It is organised by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, the centuries‑old charitable institution.
Each bilhete for the Christmas edition is divided into five cautelas (fractions), and for this draw each fraction costs €15. A full ticket costs €75 if you buy all five parts.
Every ticket carries a unique five‑digit number, and on the day of the draw, several numbers are randomly selected and matched with different prize categories. People often buy fractions together with friends, family or colleagues, because sharing the cost also means sharing in the anticipation and, hopefully, in the celebration.
Lotaria de Natal vs other Portuguese lottery games
Once you start looking at lottery posters in Portugal, it quickly becomes a soup of names: Lotaria Clássica, Lotaria Popular, Totobola, Euromilhões, Raspadinha. The Christmas Lottery sits inside the Classic Lottery family as the biggest draw of the year, but there are other themed extractions around it:
- “Alma Portuguesa: Orgulho” has a first prize of €600,000 and is on sale until 16th December 2025 at €5 per fraction.
- “Fim de Ano” extraction has a €5,000,000 first prize and is sold until 31th December at €15 per fraction
- “Reis” extraction is tied to 6th January with a €1,200,000 first prize and €10 fractions.
Compared with these, the Christmas Lottery stands out for both its longer sales period and its much larger first prize of €12.5 million. This is why it’s described as the biggest Classic Lottery draw of the year. It also feels different from other games like Totobola, which is based on football results, or Euromilhões, where you pick your own numbers and wait for twice‑weekly European draws.
Lotaria Clássica de Natal – 2025 draw date and schedule
The 51st Extraordinary Classic Christmas Lottery draw is scheduled for Friday, 26th December at 12:30 pm. It’s broadcast live so people can follow every step from home or their local café. Results are then published on the official Jogos Santa Casa channels and the Santa Casa Games portal.
How to buy Lotaria de Natal tickets
You can buy Lotaria de Natal tickets from a wide network of authorised sellers across the country. Typical points of sale include mediadores for Santa Casa Games, kiosks and stationery shops with the Jogos Santa Casa logo, and some convenience stores that double as lottery sellers. On top of that, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa has moved with the times and allows online purchase through the official Jogos Santa Casa website.
Other Portuguese Christmas traditions
Once you start paying attention, you realise the Christmas Lottery is almost a ritual in itself in Portugal. People buy into workplace syndicates and tuck tickets into the family nativity scene for luck. Conversations often drift to Spain’s obsession with the Christmas lottery El Gordo.
Beyond the lottery, December is full of small rituals that make Portugal feel wonderfully itself. Banana eating, dressing up with masks, and bonfires are just some quirky Portuguese Christmas traditions.
Food is just as central during Christmas: salted cod in all its forms, piles of mouthwatering rabanadas and filhós, and the inevitable bolo‑rei cake that everyone complains about yet slices anyway. Then the mood shifts as people start planning where to ring in the new year in Portugal to kick off 2026 in style.
Stay in the know about living in Portugal as a foreigner—get our weekly newsletter for the latest travel, legal, and lifestyle news.
For a taste of the lottery-winning high life, sign up for the monthly luxury market round-up.
Terras da Comporta Golf wins three awards at the World Golf Awards
This year’s edition of the World Golf Awards honoured Terras da Comporta Golf, a real estate project developed by Vanguard Properties, with three highly prestigious awards. The recognition further strengthens Portugal’s position as one of the leading golf destinations worldwide.
2026 European Wine City is in Portugal
European Wine City 2026 is the title given to highlight one region’s wine, culture and tourism in Europe for a full year. In 2026, the spotlight goes to a rural area in Portugal that is still very much off the mainstream tourist trail. For travellers and wine lovers, it means 2026 will be a particularly good year to explore this quieter corner of the country.
Portugal tops global wine rankings: the world’s best producer
Portugal has taken the top spot in one of the wine world’s most closely watched rankings, with a Portuguese estate named the world’s best wine producer in 2025. The result places the winery ahead of major names from South Africa, Spain, Greece and Austria.
Portuguese Christmas traditions you can't miss in 2025
Portugal transforms into a festive wonderland during the Christmas season, offering a rich mix of cultural traditions, regional customs, and delicious food. From iconic Portuguese Christmas dishes such as bacalhau and Bolo Rei to centuries-old winter celebrations like the Madeiros bonfires, Christmas in Portugal is filled with charm, colour and history.
