Spooky season and Halloween is my favourite time of year. The weather is a little cooler, leaves are turning into a rainbow of colours and pumpkin ale begins to fill the shelves in the store. But here in Portugal, All Saints Day and All Souls day are not quite so spooky.
Well, in the United States that is.
Halloween is not widely celebrated here. There are no haunted houses in our area or Halloween Parties unless they are thrown by US expats. At the beginning of October, a few stores began to put out decorations and Halloween costumes.
But most yards or courtyards are not visible to those walking or driving by, so you do not see these decorations on houses. Sometimes you can spot a jack-o-lantern on a window or a wreath on the door, but it is rare.
October 31st was very quiet.
I have to say, it is a little depressing. We realised we miss the fall colour and decorations of gourds and pumpkins. You can still buy pumpkins but they are used for eating. But not in pie.
Here in Portugal, we are celebrating a different holiday tradition.
Pão Por Deus and All Saints Day (Dia de Os Santos)
The history of All Saints’ Day in the Roman Catholic Church can be traced back to the fourth century, though it originated from earlier pagan traditions. Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to all saints, establishing November 1 as the date for the feast and then Pope Gregory IV extended the November 1 feast to the entire Church after having many relics of martyrs brought to a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica.
In Catholic countries, many people observe the holiday with the Holy Day of Obligation Mass and other church services. Many have family gatherings for meals and celebrations.
Here in Portugal, people celebrate All Saints Day as a national holiday and a bank holiday. It is also known as Pão por Deus, or Bread for God. In the morning, Portuguese children get up and go door to door asking for Pão por Deus. They do not dress up but carry a small cloth sack made just for the occasion. This year, our Council President went to the primary schools and passed them out to the children.
This custom began after the flood of 1755 when the great earthquake hit Lisbon and all but destroyed her. Children would go out to the street and beg for bread since food was scarce. Thus, a tradition was born.
Pão por Deus is an actual sweet bread made from fruit and nuts. Many people still make it and hand it out to the children as treats. There were some for sale in our local cafe and we took some home to snack on. They are very tasty!
Some Halloween traditions have begun to creep in slowly. When I asked the local store clerk what I should give out to the kids, he handed me a bag of candy.
We did not see many children out on our streets, but there were a few out asking for goodies. In contrast to the US, their bags were not busting at the seams with candy. They had collected a modest amount– enough to bring smiles to their faces.
All Souls Day
The following day on November 2nd, All Souls Day is celebrated. This is the more significant of the two days and also a public holiday. Families spend the day decorating the graves of family members. They leave fresh flower arrangements as well as light candles as a way to honour the dearly departed. Sometimes toys are left for children. Sometimes families have picnics at the gravesites of loved ones spending their day in remembrance.
We walked down to our village cemetery to see the graves. They were beautiful.
Cemeteries here are different than those we have seen in the United States. Great marble casings cover the graves and memorials are placed on top or built in. More than one family member is buried on each site.
There were also small mausoleums dedicated to a certain families. Inside, some had placed pictures and flowers by the caskets.
It gave me pause to think of all the gravesites I have visited over the years in the United States that are just left abandoned. Taking a day to honour our ancestors is not something we normally do. But I think we should.
The fall holidays have definitely been different since we have moved to Portugal, but also quite educational. I miss the gaudy costumes and decorations, but Christmas is coming up and I cannot wait to see the light displays!
Our next holiday is São Martinho Day which is an interesting story in itself. Read about our first experience with this holiday here: Chestnuts and São Martinho Day.
Make sure you check out our Podcast episode on the fall holidays! You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Pocket Casts.
Shelley is a full time traveler, blogger and podcaster currently living in Portugal with her wife, 2 dogs and a cat. She is a former history teacher originally from Winston-Salem, NC but wanted to see what life was like abroad. Now she travels all over Portugal and Europe writing about what she sees and does and tells you all kinds of fun stories on the podcast at Wandering Works for Us.