National holidays in Portugal include New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter, Freedom Day, Labor Day, Portugal Day, Assumption of Mary, Establishment of the Portuguese Republic, All Saints' Day, and Christmas. Some cities also celebrate their patron saints on June 13th, 24th, and 29th as local holidays. Carnival is celebrated 47 days before Easter with parades and masks. Saint Anthony is Lisbon's patron and associated with marriage, while Saint John's Day in Porto includes eating sardines and lighting fireworks. Saint Peter is also celebrated locally with street festivals and food.

1. National Holidays1st January – New Year’s Day
*9th February– Carnival (it’s not a holiday)
25th and 27th March – Good Friday; Easter
25th April– Freedom Day
1st and 26th May – Worker’s Day and Corpus Christi
10th June – National Day
15th August – Assumption of Mary
5th October – Establishment of the Portuguese Republic
1st November – All Saints’ Day
1st, 8th and 25th December – Restoration of Independence,
Immaculate Conception and
Christmas

2. National Holidays- The 9th February (Carnival) is not a holiday, but some cities and companies
give workers the day-off so that they can join the festivities that take place
all over the country.
- The 13th June (Saint Anthony Day) is a local holiday in cities like Lisbon or Vila
Real
- The 24th June (Saint John’s Day) is a local holiday in cities like Porto, Braga
and Almada.
-The 29th June (Saint Peter’s Day is a local holiday in cities like Sintra, Évora
and Póvoa de Varzim.

3. Carnival
In Portugal, there are some old
carnival traditions. The biggest
and most well-known festivities
take place in Torres Vedras.
Carnival is a pagan festivity,
celebrated on a Tuesday, 47 days
before Easter Sunday.
People wear masks of different sorts
and participate in parades
organised in different cities.

4. Saint Anthony of Lisbon
Saint Anthony is the patron saint of Lisbon
and he is know as the matchmaker. Thus,
everyone seeking to find someone to
marry to should pray to him.
He is also known as the Poor’s Saint and the
Saint of the lost causes. Everytime you lose
something, you should pray to him for
help.
The 13th June is a holiday in Lisbon and on
this day the city organises the “Marchas
Populares” – traditional dance parades –
as well as marriages and feasts in the most
typical neighborhoods of the city.

5. Saint JohnSaint John is also a very popular Saint in
Portugal.
Its celebration takes place in different
cities, but the most well known take
place in Porto, in the north of the
country.
The 24th June is a local holiday.
Celebrations include street festivities
where people eat the traditional
sardines, “caldo verde” and drink
wine.
At night, people go out to the street to
celebrate. The symbols of this
celebration are Basil Pots with sayings
and the colourful plastic hammers,
used to (gently) “knock” on people´s
heads. Paper hot air baloons are also
a tradition used to illuminate Saint
John’s Night festivities.

6. Saint PeterSaint Peter is, just like Saint John and Saint
Anthony, a popular Saint in Portugal. It is
celebrated on 29th June, together with
Saint Paul, as it is believed it’s the date of
their death.
Celebrations include street festivities,
parades, and balls, where music and colour
are present.
Again, people gather in the streets to eat
sardines, “caldo verde” and drink wine.