Public holidays in Portugal

Public holidays celebrated in Portugal are a mix of religious (Roman Catholic), Town, City, national and by Autonomous regions of Portugal.

Public holidays in Portugal

				Autonomous Regions
Date	English name	Portuguese name	Notes
1 January	Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God	Solenidade de Santa Maria, Mãe de Deus		Y	Y
moveable	Carnival	Carnaval	Carnival in Portugal is an annual festival, that ends on Shrove Tuesday (called Fat Tuesday in Madeira - Terça-feira Gorda in Portuguese) the day before Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent). This is an optional holiday, although it is usually observed. 47 days before Easter Sunday.	Y	Y
moveable	Good Friday	Sexta-feira Santa	Friday before Easter Sunday	Y	Y
moveable	Easter	Domingo de Páscoa	Sunday, date varies. *	Y	Y
25 April	Freedom Day	Dia da Liberdade	Celebrates the 1974 coup d'état that ended the Dictatorship and started Democracy	Y	Y
1 May	Labour Day	Dia do Trabalhador	Similar to Labor Day celebrated worldwide.	Y	Y
moveable	Corpus Christi (feast)	Corpo de Deus	Thursday, date varies. 60 days after Easter Sunday. It is religion based.	Y	Y
1 June	Azores Day	Dia dos Açores	Celebrated in Azores		Y
10 June	Portugal Day	Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas	National Day	Y	Y
1 July	Madeira Day	Dia da Madeira	Celebrated in Madeira Island	Y
15 August	Assumption	Assunção de Nossa Senhora	A religious account of the taking up of Mary into heaven.	Y	Y
5 October	Republic Day	Implantação da República	Celebrates the end of Monarchy and the beginning of the Portuguese Republic	Y	Y
1 November	All Saints Day	Dia de Todos-os-Santos	In terms of Western Christian theology, the feast commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in heaven.	Y	Y
1 December	Restoration of Independence	Restauração da Independência	Celebrates the end of the Philippine Dynasty (1580–1640)	Y	Y
8 December	Immaculate Conception	Imaculada Conceição	According to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin	Y	Y
25 December	Christmas Day	Natal		Y	Y

* - Computing the Date of Easter: The Date of Easter The Date of Easter

Revoked holidays in 2012

Four holidays, Corpus Cristi, Republic Day, All Saints Day, and Restoration of Independence were revoked in 2012, effective 2013 onwards but with public debate and re-evaluation scheduled for 2018, due to the European financial crisis. These holidays were restored starting in 2016.

Local holidays

Date	English name	Portuguese name	Notes
19 March	St. Joseph's Day	Dia de São José	Celebrated in Santarém.
13 June	St. Anthony's Day	Dia de Santo António	Celebrated in Lisbon where on the Avenida da Liberdade, there are the Marchas, a parade of folklore and costumes from the city's different traditional quarters, with hundreds of singers and dancers and a vast audience applauding their favorite participants. As St Anthony is the matchmaker saint, it is still the tradition in Lisbon to celebrate multiple marriages (200 to 300).
24 June	St. John's Day	Dia de São João	Celebrated in Porto, Braga, Figueira da Foz, and Almada. Porto and Braga celebrate with a big festival and fireworks over the River Douro (in Porto) and down Avenida da Liberdade (in Braga). Across the country a traditional midsummer bonfire is also built and following an ancient pagan tradition, revelers try to jump over the bonfire, this in order to gain protection during the rest of the year.
29 June	St. Peter's Day	Dia de São Pedro	Celebrated in Alfândega da Fé, Bombarral, Castro Daire, Castro Verde, Évora, Felgueiras, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Montijo, Penedono, Porto de Mós, Póvoa de Varzim, Ribeira Brava, Ribeira Grande, São Pedro do Sul, Seixal and Sintra. Just like St. Anthony's Day and St. John's Day, St. Peter's Day is celebrated with a traditional midsummer bonfire, where people jumps over and perform a tradition known as "Queimar a Alcachofra" (Burn the Artichoke) which symbolizes the "Good Which Fulfill".
4 July	St. Elizabeth's Day	Dia de Santa Isabel	Celebrated in Coimbra
21 September	St. Matthew's Day	Dia de São Mateus	Celebrated in Viseu, and Elvas

External links

• Religious Festivals in Madeira 2014
• Madeira Events 2014