Portugal celebrates Easter with fervour as it is the main Christian feast.\u00a0 It all starts on Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of the Holy Week when people more deeply remind and celebrate the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
During the Holy Week in some places all over the country there are religious processions to celebrate the Passion of Christ.<\/p>\n
Maundy Thursday with the Mass of Lord\u2019s Supper and the ritual of \u201clava-p\u00e9s\u201d (feet washing) is celebrated in all churches.\u00a0 Good Friday is a public holiday in Portugal and people celebrate Christ\u2019s suffering and death on the Calvary with processions of the \u201cVia Cr\u00facis\u201d (stations of the cross).<\/p>\n
On Holy Saturday night Christians celebrate the Easter Vigil when the first resurrection mass is held because Jesus defeated death and is alive.<\/p>\n
On Easter Sunday, mainly in towns and villages, after the resurrection mass, the priest and a parish group visit people\u2019s homes to bring the good news of Christ\u2019s resurrection. They carry a cross and a small bell to announce they are coming. The priest blesses the houses and says: \u201cJesus Christ resurrected: Alleluia, alleluia\u201d and everybody in the house- family and friends \u2013 kiss the cross. As it is impossible to enter all the houses on Sunday, this visit continues next Monday.<\/p>\n
In some places, on Palm Sunday godchildren offer flowers to godfathers and godmothers who give them a \u201cFolar\u201d, a typical Portuguese Easter cake. This is a sweet bread with one or more boiled eggs in the middle. These cakes are in all Portuguese homes, but some godchildren only receive them on Easter Sunday, together with sugar or chocolate almonds.<\/p>\n
On Good Friday people don\u2019t eat meat, but on Easter Sunday they cook mainly roast lamb and varied sweets. The main ones are the above referred \u201cfolares\u201d, sugar or chocolate almonds, chocolate eggs and bunnies.<\/p>\n
(RS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Portugal celebrates Easter with fervour as it is the main Christian feast.\u00a0 It all starts on Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of the Holy Week when people more deeply remind and celebrate the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. During the Holy Week in some places all over the country there are religious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,40,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kacik-kulturalny","category-miedzy-slowami","category-podroze-2"],"yoast_head":"\n