Worldway Immigration Explains Portugal's Special Holidays

    Since the launch of its Golden Residence Permit policy, Portugal has become a rising star in the European immigration market, rapidly gaining popularity due to its low threshold and fast application process. After immigrating to Portugal, the most convenient way for immigrants to integrate into the local community is to participate in local collective activities, bridge gaps during shared celebrations, and experience the local customs and culture. Below, we introduce some of Portugal's special holidays!

 

 

Grandparents' Day

Since 2003, Portugal has designated July 26 as Grandparents' Day, encouraging citizens to spend time with their grandparents on this day to promote the virtues of respecting and caring for the elderly.

On May 22, 2003, the Portuguese Parliament passed a motion designating July 26 as National Grandparents' Day, emphasizing that grandparents are a fundamental factor in connecting families and society, playing an irreplaceable and beneficial role in passing on wisdom and experience and stabilizing relationships across generations. The Portuguese Parliament also called for the eradication of discrimination and abuse of the elderly within families and criticized the practice of sending elderly people to nursing homes while others go on holiday. On this day, one can see peaceful scenes of three generations of families walking or shopping together in streets and shopping malls.

Festival of the Trays (Festa dos Tabuleiros)

The history of the "Festival of the Trays" dates back to the beginning of the Common Era. It is one of Portugal's traditional festivals and is held every four years.

On the day of the festival, young women dressed in white participate in a parade with huge trays balanced on their heads. Each tray is the same height as the woman carrying it. In addition to being decorated with various paper flowers, the trays are adorned with different types of bread. By balancing the tray on their heads, the women demonstrate to the world that they have reached maturity and are capable of raising the next generation.

The "Festival of the Trays" is therefore considered a coming-of-age ceremony for local women. The grand parade of women carrying trays on their heads attracts tourists from all over the world.

Ocean Festival

Every year on August 21, the small town of Cascais, near the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, welcomes the annual Ocean Festival. This festival lasts until August 30.

University Students' Festival

The annual Portugal University Students' Festival is held in several cities across the country in early May. Among them, the Coimbra University Students' Festival is the largest in scale, and its float parade is the most famous.