Public holidays in Portugal

In Portugal, a public holiday (Portuguese: feriado) is a calendar date, legally recognised and defined in the Labour Code^{[1][2][3][4][5]} as well as the Concordat of 2004, on which most businesses and non-essential services are closed. On some of these dates, public commemorative festivities are traditionally held.

Public holidays in Portugal are a mixture of select religious (Roman Catholic) observances and days that have national historical or cultural significance. These dates have changed over time: currently, there are 13 mandatory holidays and one optional (Carnival) that has to be specifically designated as a day off work (Portuguese: tolerância de ponto) each year by government decree (for public servants) or companies (for private sector). Specific dates may alternatively be observed only at region or municipal level. Collective bargaining can specify that optional holidays are observed always and are also free for agreeing other dates that the specific company or sector agrees to observe as a holiday (e.g. bank holidays).

Public holidays in Portugal

Date	English name	Portuguese name	Notes	Continental Portugal	Autonomous Regions of Portugal
moveable	Municipal holiday	Feriado Municipal	Public holiday established by each municipality, limited to its own territory, in general to celebrate the patron saint of the municipality, or the date of the establishment of the municipal autonomy	Y	Y	Y
1 January	New Year's Day	Ano Novo		Y	Y	Y
moveable	Carnival	Carnaval	Carnival in Portugal is an annual festival, that ends on Shrove Tuesday (called Fat Tuesday in Madeira - Terça-feira Gorda in Portuguese) the day before Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent). This is an optional holiday, although it is usually observed. 47 days before Easter Sunday.	Y	Y	Y
moveable	Good Friday	Sexta-feira Santa	Friday before Easter Sunday. Last observed 29 March 2024	Y	Y	Y
moveable	Easter Sunday	Domingo de Páscoa[6]	Last observed 31 March 2024	Y	Y	Y
2 April	Madeira's Autonomy Day	Dia da Autonomia	The date marks the approval of the 1976 Constitution, which recognized the political and administrative autonomy of the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores[7][8][9].		Y
25 April	Freedom Day	Dia da Liberdade	Celebrates the 1974 coup d'état that ended the Estado Novo government and established the Portuguese Third Republic.	Y	Y	Y
1 May	Labour Day	Dia do Trabalhador	Similar to Labor Day celebrated worldwide.	Y	Y	Y
moveable	Corpus Christi	Corpo de Deus	Thursday, date varies. 60 days after Easter Sunday. It is religion based. Last observed 30 May 2024	Y	Y	Y
moveable	Autonomous Region of Azores Day (Whit Monday)	Dia da Região Autónoma dos Açores Dia da Pombinha Dia do Bodo	Only celebrated in Azores.[5]			Y
10 June	Portugal Day	Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas	National Day. Commemorates the death of national poet Luís de Camões in 1580.	Y	Y	Y
1 July	Autonomous Region of Madeira and Madeiran Communities Day	Dia da Região Autónoma da Madeira e das Comunidades Madeirenses	Only celebrated in Madeira.[2][3][4]		Y
15 August	Assumption Day	Assunção de Nossa Senhora	A religious account of the taking up of Mary into heaven.	Y	Y	Y
5 October	Republic Day	Implantação da República	Celebrates the end of Monarchy and the beginning of the Portuguese Republic.	Y	Y	Y
1 November	All Saints Day	Dia de Todos-os-Santos	In terms of Western Christian theology, the feast commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in heaven.	Y	Y	Y
1 December	Restoration of Independence	Restauração da Independência	Celebrates the end of the Philippine Dynasty (1580–1640).	Y	Y	Y
8 December	Immaculate Conception	Imaculada Conceição	According to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin.	Y	Y	Y
25 December	Christmas Day	Natal		Y	Y	Y
26 December	1st Octave	Primeira Oitava	Only celebrated in Madeira. – Primeira Oitava is part of Madeira's centuries old Christmas celebrations which has been recognized as public holiday[10] by the Regional Government of Madeira, celebrating the second day of the week leading up to New Year's Day.		Y
Total holidays				15	18	16

Revoked holidays in 2013–2015

In 2012, the XIX Constitutional Government of Portugal controversially revoked four holidays – two civilian holidays (Republic Day and Restoration of Independence) and two religious ones (Corpus Christi and All Saints Day). The move was effective from 2013 onwards and was presented as a measure to increase productivity, in the context of the 2011–2014 Troika bailout to Portugal (even though that measure was never requested by the Memorandum of Understanding). Public debate and re-evaluation were scheduled in 2018 for the religious holidays.

The four holidays were eventually restored by the XXI Constitutional Government of Portugal, in January 2016.

Local holidays

According to a Decree of 12 October 1910, municipalities were given the possibility of choosing a day that would represent their traditional festivals.^[11]

Date	English name	Portuguese name	Notes
15 January	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Santa Cruz.
20 January	Municipal Holiday	Dia do S. Sebastião	Celebrated in Santa Maria da Feira, Aveiro.
22 January	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in São Vicente.
18 February	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Valença.
19 March	Saint Joseph's Day	Dia de São José	Celebrated in Santarém.
11 April	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Lagoa. The date was chosen because the locality was made town by Royal Charter of 11 April 1522.
23 April	Saint George's Day	Dia de São Jorge.	Celebrated in Velas. The date was chosen due to the fact that this locality celebrates Saint George's Day since 1460.[12]
moveable	Easter Monday	Segunda-feira de Páscoa	Celebrated in Avis, Borba, Caminha, Campo Maior, Cuba, Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Ílhavo, Mação, Mora, Penamacor, Ponte de Sor, Portel, Redondo, Castelo de Vide, Constância, Crato, Nisa and Sousel. 1 April in 2024.
moveable	Ascension of Jesus	Quinta-feira da Ascensão	Celebrated in Alcanena, Alenquer, Almeirim, Alter do Chão, Alvito, Anadia, Ansião, Arraiolos, Arruda dos Vinhos, Azambuja, Beja, Benavente, Cartaxo, Chamusca, Estremoz, Golegã, Loulé, Mafra, Marinha Grande, Mealhada, Melgaço, Monchique, Mortágua, Oliveira do Bairro, Quarteira, Salvaterra de Magos, Santa Comba Dão, Sobral de Monte Agraço, Torres Novas, Vidigueira and Vila Franca de Xira.
Fifth Sunday after Easter (moveable)	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Ponta Delgada.[12]
25 May	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Santana. The date was chosen because it is anniversary of the date of elevation the village and seat of county in the year 1835.
13 June	St. Anthony's Day	Dia de Santo António	Celebrated in Lisbon where on the Avenida da Liberdade, there are the Marchas, a parade of folklore and costumes from the city's different traditional quarters, with hundreds of singers and dancers and a vast audience applauding their favorite participants. As St Anthony is the matchmaker saint, it is still the tradition in Lisbon to celebrate multiple marriages (200 to 300).
16 June	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Olhão. The date was chosen because it marks the start of the Olhão's revolt against the Napoleonic troops.
20 June	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Corvo. The date was chosen because it is the anniversary of the town.[12]
24 June	St. John's Day	Dia de São João	Celebrated in Porto, Braga, Figueira da Foz, Almada, Calheta, Porto Santo, Angra do Heroísmo, Horta, Santa Cruz da Graciosa, Santa Cruz das Flores, Vila do Porto and Vila Franca do Campo (as a Municipal Holiday).[13] Porto and Braga celebrate with a big festival and fireworks over the River Douro (in Porto) and down Avenida da Liberdade (in Braga). Across the country a traditional midsummer bonfire is also built and following an ancient pagan tradition, revelers try to jump over the bonfire, this in order to gain protection during the rest of the year.
29 June	St. Peter's Day	Dia de São Pedro	Celebrated in Alfândega da Fé, Bombarral, Castro Daire, Castro Verde, Évora, Felgueiras, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Montijo, Penedono, Porto de Mós, Póvoa de Varzim, Ribeira Brava, Ribeira Grande, São Pedro do Sul, Seixal and Sintra. Just like St. Anthony's Day and St. John's Day, St. Peter's Day is celebrated with a traditional midsummer bonfire, where people jumps over and perform a tradition known as "Queimar a Alcachofra" (Burn the Artichoke) which symbolizes the "Good Which Fulfill".
4 July	St. Elizabeth's Day	Dia de Santa Isabel	Celebrated in Coimbra
Third Monday of July (moveable)	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Lajes das Flores.
18 July	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Nordeste. This date was chosen because the locality was made town by Royal Charter of 18 July 1514.
22 July	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Porto Moniz and Madalena.
26 July	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Loures. This date was chosen because the locality was made municipal seat on 26 July 1886, replacing Olivais as the seat of the municipality.
11 August	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Praia da Vitória. The date was chosen because it is the anniversary of the battle (11 August 1829) that prevented the royalists from reaching land during the Portuguese Civil War.
16 August	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in São Roque do Pico.[12]
20 August	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Viana do Castelo.
21 August	Funchal City Day	Dia da Cidade do Funchal	Celebrated in Funchal. Anniversary of the date in which, in 1508, and by Royal Charter, the town of Funchal was elevated to the category of city.[13][14][15]
8 September	Nativity of Mary	Natividade de Nossa Senhora	Celebrated in Lagoa, Alcoutim, Ponta do Sol, Lamego, Mangualde, Marco de Canaveses, Marvão, Montemor-o-Velho, Murtosa, Nazaré, Odemira, Ourique and Sabrosa.
21 September	St. Matthew's Day	Dia de São Mateus	Celebrated in Viseu, and Elvas
Monday after the first the Sunday of September (moveable)	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Povoação.[12]
4 October	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrate in Câmara de Lobos. The date was chosen because on 4 October 1835 the first electoral act took place, the swearing-in ceremony and inauguration of the first mayor of Câmara de Lobos and his respective council.[16]
9 October	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Machico. This is date on which the annual pilgrimage to the Lord of Miracles takes place, and the anniversary of the date in 1803 of which the most severe natural calamity that occurred on the island of Madeira since its settlement: an alluvium which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.[13]
19 November	Municipal Holiday	Dia do Concelho	Celebrated in Odivelas and Trofa. This date was chosen because both localities were made municipal seats on 19 November 1998, becoming autonomous from the municipalities of Loures and Santo Tirso, respectively.
25 November	Saint Catherine's Day	Dia de Santa Catarina	Celebrated in Calheta. The date was chosen because since times immemorial it is on this day that this locality celebrates the Feast of Saint Catherine.[12]

References

1. "Diário da República - Código do Trabalho". dre.pt. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
2. "Diário da República - Decreto Regional n.º 27/79/M, de 9 de novembro". dre.pt. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
3. "Diário da República - Decreto Legislativo Regional n.º 18/2002/M, de 8 de novembro". dre.pt. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
4. "Diário da República - Decreto Legislativo Regional n.º 1/89/M, de 2 de fevereiro". dre.pt. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
5. "Diário da República - Decreto Regional n.º 13/80/A, de 21 de agosto". dre.pt. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
6. Páscoa Portugal
7. Pestana, João Filipe. "Avança proposta para instituir a 2 de Abril o feriado do Dia da Autonomia na Madeira". DNOTICIAS.PT (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
8. seguir, Romina Barreto Autor marcado para. "Feriado da Autonomia enviado para publicação por Ireneu Barreto". www.jm-madeira.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
9. Lusa, Agência. "Parlamento da Madeira institui feriado regional do Dia da Autonomia em 2 de abril". Observador (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
10. "Decreto Legislativo Regional n.º 39/2012/M" (PDF). Jornal Oficial da Região Autónoma da Madeira. Governo Regional da Madeira. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
11. Coelho, Pedro (9 October 2018). "Comemorações - Dia do Conselho". Câmara Municipal de Câmara de Lobos. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
12. "Feriados na Região Autónoma dos Açores | Calendários". Calendários (in European Portuguese). 7 May 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
13. "Feriados na Região Autónoma da Madeira | Calendários". Calendários (in European Portuguese). 6 May 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
14. "Cultura Madeira - Dia da Cidade do Funchal". cultura.madeira.gov.pt. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
15. "Feriados Nacionais e Regionais". www.madeira-web.com (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 17 August 2022.
16. "Câmara de Lobos aprova alteração do Dia do Concelho". dnoticias.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 9 October 2018.

External links

• Religious Festivals in Madeira 2014
• Madeira Events 2014