Today, Christmas is a worldwide celebration when people exchange gifts, sing carols and the whole family meets up for a very special dinner. But what are its origins?
Today, Christmas is commonly known as a Christian holiday, the celebration of Jesus’s birthday. However, originally, 25 December was a pagan holiday called Yule, held to celebrate the winter solstice. This holiday marks the shortest day and longest night of the year and the point when the days start getting warmer.
In Roman times, many gods were celebrated on this date. Saturn was celebrated during Saturnalia, but, most importantly, members of the upper class celebrated the birth of Mithra, the Roman god of the sun. Because of this, Christian writers often made the connection between the birth of the “sun” and the birth of the “son.”
There is no proof whatsoever that Jesus was born on 25 December; in fact, many sources point to his birth being sometime in spring (why would shepherds be herding cattle in winter?), but this was the date that Pope Julius chose. Some believe this choice was made to replace the pagan tradition, and, sensibly, since by the Middle Ages, most celebrations of the holiday were Christian.
Who Was Santa Claus?
The origin of Santa Claus comes from a mix of many different legends and cultures. Odin, the Norse king of the gods, was known for flying around the world on his eight-legged horse, giving out gifts to children, and eating the cookies and milk left for him. The legend of Santa can also be traced back to a monk called St. Nicholas, who was born in Turkey around 280 AD. The legend first spread when Dutch families brought the myth to New York City (New Amsterdam at the time).
In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote a poem called An Account From a Visit from Saint Nicholas, in which he depicted Santa Claus as the man who flies over homes delivering presents on a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Cartoonist Thomas Nast created and immortalised the iconic image of Santa we know today, drawing his take on Moore’s poem.
Portuguese Christmas Traditions
Christmas is just around the corner, but what are the different traditions throughout Portugal?
Eating
The act of sharing a meal with loved ones also holds deep cultural meaning in Portugal, with Christmas serving as a time to come together and celebrate the joy of the season.
The food eaten varies greatly from family to family, but almost everyone tries to have a Christmas dinner on the evening of 24 December. One of the most iconic Christmas dishes in Portugal is bacalhau com todos, which translates to ‘cod with everything’. This dish features salted cod that is typically soaked for several days to remove the salt before being cooked with a variety of vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and cabbage.
The tradition of eating bacalhau on Christmas Eve derives from Catholicism. The day before Christmas was a time when religious followers were supposed to abstain from eating meat. In a country where vegetarianism wasn’t really a concept, not eating meat meant preparing fish-based dishes. Before refrigerators existed, cured cod meant easier access to fish for everyone in the country, including those living in mountainous areas far from the coast. Today, you will see the dried cod in every supermarket leading up to Christmas. On Christmas Day, most Portuguese families will enjoy a meal of roasted meats such as roast turkey or suckling pig, along with sides of rice, potatoes, and assorted vegetables. And of course, no Christmas meal would be complete without an array of sweet treats such as filhós (fried dough) and rabanadas (French toast).
Another popular dish during the Christmas season is the bolo de rei or king cake. This festive dessert is a sweet bread filled with crystallised fruits, nuts and sugar; it is often topped with a glaze and a crown of candied fruits. The bolo rei is traditionally enjoyed on Epiphany, which falls on 6 January and celebrates the three kings who visited the baby Jesus.
Ginja do Barreiro
Barreiro is a small town across the river from Lisbon. About 30 years ago, a tradition was born. On the evening of the 24 December, the townspeople in Barreiro would leave their homes and make their way to a tavern, restaurant or cafe and drink a glass of ginja, a traditional Portuguese liquor. It is also common for street musicians and artists, who bring life and cheer to the streets of Barreiro, to be offered a glass of ginja when they stop at a tavern, restaurant or cafe. After these artists have finished their route, they usually stop at a very famous tavern in Barreiro called Tasca da Galega, where they have their last drink before going home to celebrate with their families.
This tradition has become so popular that even the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, visits Barreiro every year on the evening of Christmas Eve. In Barreiro, Christmas is about spending time with friends and family, especially with the ones you love.
Lisbon Christmas tree
In Portugal´s capital city, the main street is illuminated with Christmas lights and an artificial Christmas tree has been erected annually since 2004. In 2005, it was an entrant in the Guinness World Records and awarded the title of Europe’s tallest Christmas tree. The height of the tree varies every year and it was the highest in 2007 at 76 metres.
May the delicious food and festive spirit of the season bring joy and warmth to all of our homes this holiday season. Feliz Natal!
Main image: Christmas tree at Praça do Comércio in Lisbon. Photo: Rosa Pinto. TV Europe.
Article written with the help of Mário Rui Filipe and Ana Carrasquinho
