Five Christmases in Portugal

Old and New traditions ...

We made olives again this year. It has become one of our Portuguese Christmas traditions. Okay, we don’t actually “make” the olives … but we do pick them on our golf course, brine and then prepare them with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon, and herbs. We picked twice as many as last year. So if you see us and haven’t already been given a jar…please inquire.

Lisbon

Our First Christmas

We arrived in Portugal on 31 December 2020…COVID-19 limited most of the Christmas decorations in 2020. Our first real Christmas in Portugal (2021) we were living in Cascais. That year, we also ventured to Óbidos … if you have not experienced their Christmas Village, I highly recommend it. Of course, we also took the train to Lisbon and enjoyed their Christmas lights.

Málaga

2022

We enjoyed Lisbon so much that we returned with friends from the States the next year. It was rainy and damp…but it didn’t dim our holiday spirit. We also experienced our first Spanish Christmas when we visited Málaga. If you need a bit of holiday spirit, click on the link and watch the videos.

Agueda

2023

In 2023, we traveled north, visiting Aveiro and Águeda. We went because we had read about the biggest Santa, but I was more captivated by the English sculptor Willard Wigan, who holds the record for creating the smallest micro-sculptures in the world. One can only marvel at the mind that envisions and the talent that creates a Santa inside the eye of a needle. We also took a Christmas river cruise, enabling us to experience Christmas markets in Austria and Germany.

Lisbon with friends

2024

On 6 December 2024, we boarded an Emirates flight from Lisbon to Hanoi, via Dubai. We spent the next 20 days visiting Vietnam and Cambodia. The first of 5 posts about the trip can be found here. When we returned to Lisbon, it was Christmas Day. We were unable to take a FlixBus or RedeExpress bus home, so after a much-needed nap, we met with friends in Lisbon to enjoy the lights.

This Year

This year, after a quick trip to Puglia, we returned to Vila Real de Santo António. Sadly, we missed Santa’s arrival in the city … though I am quite sure that children once more enjoyed snowfall in the praça. Of course, the Presépio Gigante is also drawing long lines on weekends, and Castro Marim brought in 12 tons of salt to create their nativity scene, and the work of a crochet artist was once more on display. Traditions run deep in Portugal.

Permit me to share a tradition our pickleball club began in 2023. That year, and each year since, we have made a cash donation to ReFood. ReFood collects donations from hotels, restaurants, schools, and supermarkets and then distributes the food to needy families. This year, in addition to our normal cash donation, we collected money for gifts for 20 children in VRSA. Some children asked if a doll or a puzzle might be possible. Others wanted colored pencils or paint sets. One little 4-year-old girl simply asked for food for her family on Christmas. Ana, Denise, and I spent a few afternoons buying and wrapping the gifts. This is a Christmas tradition we will surely repeat for years to come.

Waiting for Santa’s helpers to distribute to children in VRSA.

Boas festas,

Nanc

Editor’s Note: Next Monday, 29 December, will be my last weekly post. I expect it will be reflections on our first 5 years in Portugal. Based on the feedback from my recent reader survey, biweekly posts will begin on 12 January.