Fireworks are a tradition on New Year’s Eve in Portugal. Although villages and towns all over the country create their own displays, firework shows in coastal cities like São Martinho do Porto and Nazaré draw huge crowds. A big part of the attraction is the way they are launched from boats moored a short distance offshore. Rockets soar skyward flashing light into the night air all around them and blazing reflections from the water below.
I was lucky enough to be invited to join a group of friends driving from my area in central Portugal to see the display at São Martinho. First we made a stop at the town of Caldas de Rainha which is popular with British and US expats. Located just a few miles from the Atlantic beaches, Caldas is in part of the area known as the Silver Coast. Our destination there was a large exhibition hall where the New Year’s Eve festivities were just getting underway at around 9:30.
A band was belting out one of the typical Portuguese songs that remind me of what a Latina friend of mine in Albuquerque called “Mexican Polka Music.” The entertainment included a couple of girls dressed in short glittery dresses enthusiastically dancing cha cha steps from one side of the stage to the other. The hall gradually filled and the dance floor became crowded. Food trucks did a brisk trade in “bifanas”, the Portuguese sandwiches consisting of a bread roll filled with slices of grilled pork. Bar stands sold beer (cerveja) or wine (vinho tinto) in plastic glasses for around one Euro.
Festive Foods
New Year’s eve traditions in Portugal include eating “passos”, raisins as the hour strikes midnight. If you eat one for each bell it’s supposed to bring you good luck. Another tradition is to eat “Leitão”, suckling pig. I went to a party my first New Year’s eve in Portugal where they had the treat displayed on a large skewer on the sideboard along with the other foods. I didn’t try it, but it is supposed to be tender and delicious.
Here Comes the Sun
A really welcome gift to us all in the first few days of January has been the return of the sun. Since the middle of October we’ve had days and days of rain. On Christmas Day it poured in torrents! Portuguese houses are notorious for dampness. Many people I know have been complaining about mold, mildew and condensation. I’ve been running the dehumidifier I bought a couple of years ago regularly in each of the bedrooms in my house and gathered A LOT of water.
Oh well, now the sun is out we can enjoy ourselves for a few days.
Bom Ano! Don’t forget to subscribe to follow my blog, and get a copy of my novel “The Power of Rain”
Rosalie in the Red and Green 