Portugal

Signature traditions

• 1.Consoada — the late Christmas Eve dinner that begins around 9 PM and stretches past midnight, the central family meal of the entire holiday season
• 2.Missa do Galo (Rooster's Mass) at midnight on December 24, named for the cockerel said to have crowed when Christ was born
• 3.Setting up the 'presépio' (nativity scene) in early December — often more elaborate and more central to the home than the Christmas tree itself
• 4.Lighting candles for departed family members during Consoada and sometimes leaving empty chairs at the table for those who have passed
• 5.'Cantar as Janeiras' in early January — children and adults going door-to-door singing traditional songs in exchange for small gifts of food or coins

What's on the table

Bacalhau cozido and Bolo Rei

Consoada centers on 'bacalhau cozido com todos' — salt cod boiled with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and hard-boiled eggs, dressed simply with olive oil and vinegar. Dessert is Bolo Rei, a ring-shaped king cake studded with crystallized fruit and nuts, eaten from Christmas through Three Kings' Day on January 6. Other staples: roasted octopus, rabanadas (Portuguese French toast), and filhós (fried dough).

The iconic decoration

Presépios over trees

The presépio (nativity scene) is the spiritual centerpiece of Portuguese Christmas decoration, often inherited and added to across generations. Some families build presépios that take over an entire room, with figurines arriving over the season and the baby Jesus added to the manger only at midnight on Christmas Eve. Trees are common in urban homes, but secondary to the presépio in tradition.

How gifts are given

Pai Natal (Father Christmas) leaves gifts under the tree or beside the presépio on Christmas Eve. Children typically open them at midnight after returning from Missa do Galo. A second smaller round of gifts arrives on Epiphany (January 6) — Día dos Reis, the day the Three Kings reached the manger.