Easter traditions in Portugal include fasting from meat on Good Friday and eating roast kid or lamb for Easter Sunday lunch. The Semana Santa processions in Braga are an important religious celebration, while the shepherds blessing their flocks in Castelo de Vide has Jewish origins. Godparents traditionally give folar, a Portuguese Easter cake, to their godchildren. Decorating eggs and eating them along with other sweets like almonds and chocolate eggs are also part of Portuguese Easter traditions.

1. EASTER IN PORTUGAL
Made by: André Santos and Pedro Sá
EB 2,3 dos Olivais School, Lisbon

2. EASTER TRADITIONS IN PORTUGAL
As all catholic countries Portugal has a long tradition in
celebrating Easter.
On Holy Friday, we can say, that almost all Portuguese
Christians don't eat meat.
This fasting ends on Saturday of Easter with the
traditional roast kid in the family. This day there are on
the table a set of typical delicacies such as “folares”,
almonds, chocolate eggs and other sweets.

3. RELIGION
Braga in the north of Portugal has a
festive atmosphere during the “Semana Santa”
(Holy Week). The Ecce Homo Procession on
Good Friday, led by the Farricocos (barefoot
men in tunics with hoods) ,is one of the most
peculiar parts of the Portuguese religious
tradition.

4. RELIGION
In Castelo de Vide region in the south,
you’ll experience a very different Easter
celebration, one with Jewish origins. In the
morning of Easter Eve, the region’s shepherds
invade the town centre to have their flocks of
sheep blessed. At night, during the “Vigília
Pascal” (Paschal Vigil), people ask for
forgiveness in secret. At the end of the mass,
all those present bring cowbells that ring the
“Cortejo da Aleluia” (Procession of Alleluia)
through the town.

5. EASTER SUNDAY LUNCH
Apart from Christmas Lunch , we can say that Easter Lunch is the most
important meal of Portuguese Christians.
Traditionally, on Easter Sunday, we have a meat plate: generally kid
goat or lamb, but a lot of times also Pig (roasted pig or ham). In some
areas they include in Easter menu a stuffed pie of several meats and
eggs.

6. The Easter Sunday Lunch Recipe
• Cabrito ou borrego assado no forno (Kid goat or sheep
roasted)
Preparation:
Ingredients:
1 kid goat of medium size 1. Prick 2 onions, the cloves of garlic and the bacon
125 butter gr or margarine finely. Join them 50 margarine gr and colorau
and 1 dl of white wine and season with thick salt
100 bacon gr and pepper.
4 onions 2. Obtain the kid goat and clay it with the prepared.
4 cloves of garlic 3.Dispose in the fund of recipient to roast the
2 parrot leaves remaining onions cut in slices. On these place the
kid goat, join a parsley branch and the parrot
1 parsley branch and let to be like this 24 hours, in fresh place.
2,5 dl of white wine 4. The following day water the kid goat with the
1 colorau teaspoon remaining white wine and dispose the potatoes
cut at rooms. Season with salt and pepper.
500 gr of potatoes
Salt and pepper 5. Spread the remaining margarine cut in mouthfuls on
the kid goat and the potatoes and take to roast
in the oven, watering once in a while with the
sauce that is going forming.
6. Accompany with lettuce salad and fried potatoes.

7. THE “FOLAR”
In Portugal, godparents and godmothers always offer a
“folar”, the Portuguese Easter cake, to godchildren in
tribute to the feast of Ressurrection of Jesus.
“Folar” recipe:
Ingredients:
1 kg flour 5 dl of milk
250 gr butter or margarine Salt
35 gr of baker's ferment 1 spoon of coffee of herb-
100 gr of sugar sweet
3 eggs 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

8. PREPARATION OF THE “FOLAR”:
 Dissolve the ferment in some warm milk and, with 200 flour gr, make
a mass. Let to leaven .
 Work the remaining flour with the eggs, the sugar and the milk, until
obtaining a very light mass, with plenty of body. Add the margarine
later, salt, to herb-candy and the cinnamon.
 Work well the mass and, finally, join it the ferment that was to
leaven.
 Work the mass until it comes off of the hands and of the alguidar(
plastic pot). Cover with a cloth and let to leaven during 2 at 5 hours
in warm place.
 After that time, divide the mass in balls and flatten them. On each
one it places 1 or more hard eggs, according to the size of the base
of the mass.
 Hold the eggs with some mass ribbons. Paint with a brush with egg
yolk and cook in hot oven.

9. EASTER CURIOSITIES
The habit of German
The word Easter offering coloured immigrants
comes from eggs or introduced
decorations
Eastre,the pagan starts in Portugal the
goddess of Spring. in the XVth tradition
century. of the
Easter symbols (baskets, Easter
flowers, coloured eggs Before Easter Bunny and
and rabbits) came from Day American the basket
the pagan festivals. and British of eggs.
people paint
Easter eggs
with bright
colours and
designs.

10. VISITED SITES
www.esec-eca-queiros-lsb.rcts.pt/.../festival.html
www.traditions.no.sapo.pt/portuguese_easter.htm
www.at1ce.org/themenreihe.p?c=Ceremonies
www.visitportugal.com