EASTER IN PORTUGAL

2008 ANO EUROPEU DO DIÁLOGO INTERCULTURAL THE EUROPEAN YEAR OF INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE (EYID)

TWO COUNTRIES TWO FLAGS TWO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES PORTUGAL CROATIA

TWO SCHOOLS

EB 2, 3 MARIA MANUELA SÁ – S. MAMEDE DE INFESTA (MATOSINHOS)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DONJA STUBICA

At the front door of our school On the left, th picture of our patron

EASTER IN NORTHERN PORTUGAL

After Carnival, nobody ate meat on Fridays;

On the Sunday before Easter, children and young people used to take an olive brunch to the mess to be blessed by the priest and then offered to their godmother.

People used to dress new clothes to go the mess on Easter Sunday .

OLD TIMES …

On Holy Friday,in many villages and small towns, people took part in a procession and went to the mess in the evening.

On Easter Sunday, church bells woke up people to announce Jesus ressurrection, people went to the mess and then went back home to wait for the priest.

Everybody received the priest at home so that the whole family and the house itself could be blessed with holy water. All people used to kiss the holy cross.

The houses were very well cleaned; people put a very nice table-cloth on a table and there an orange with a coin. Thus, all the fruit would be blessed and the money was for the church as a gift. The ‘ FOLAR’- in two versions: sweet and with brown boiled eggs(boiled with onion layers) on the top; and made of salty smoked ham used to be offered to the priest and his fellows and, later, eaten by the whole family at lunch.

All streets were beautifully decorated with flowers on the floor and the richer people used to put at the windows rich embroidery coverlets

People ate roast meat, specially lamb, with rice and potatoes and the ‘folar’. God mothers used to give a gift to their god children (money or new clothes or sweet almonds)

Nowadays… Many of these traditions are still alive, specially in villages and small towns. Today, as fewer people receive the priest at home, those who want their houses to be blessed put flowers on the floor in front of them so that the priest know where to take the holy cross.

Many people offer the priest and his fellows: ‘folar’, pão-de-ló’ (a light cake made of eggs, sugar a very little flour) and sweet almonds.

God mothers offer chocolate eggs to their god children

Fortunately some traditions are becoming alive again: specially the use of painting eggs…at school!

CONCLUSIONS

We loved doing this work because we could learn where Croatia is situated and how interesting are croatian traditions to celebrate Easter. On the other hand we had to do a research to find out our own older traditions. Some traditions are similar among the two peoples:

the water as holy liquid;

blessing the houses;

painted eggs;

families eating good food and delicious sweets!

… And above all we learnt that it is very important to share experiences with students from other countries because the world would be better if we understand and respect all peoples!

SPECIAL THANKS

To:

Our parents

Our grandparents (specially Mafalda’s gramdma who baked the ‘pão-de-ló’ for you!)

Our teacher ( she helped us with the English language!)

STUDENTS :

Ana*, Beatriz*, Carolina*, Cristina*, Inês*, José Carlos**, Juliana*, Mafalda*, Mariana*, Mariana P.,* Mariana C., * Manuel B.**, Manuel V.**, Miguel**, Nuno**, Pedro**, Ricardo**, Raúl**, Rui**, Tiago** and Sofia*