Christmas in Portugal has a curious aspect, because the traditional food is different in the northern and southern regions of the country.
In the northern regions people eat boiled codfish with boiled potatoes and cabbage or octopus. In the southern regions people eat turkey!
The Portuguese desserts are really delicious!!
We have “rabanadas”, similar a French toast ( a kind of slices of bread with eggs milk and sugar, this dessert is topped with cinnamon and yellow sugar) “pão-de-ló” ( a kind of sweet bread) “aletria” ( boiled vermicelli sweet with eggs and cinnamon) “sonhos” (pumpkin fritters) and the famous “King’s Cake” ( a wreath like fruit cake laced with crystallized fruits and pine nuts, there is a little present inside the cake and a broad bean, the one who finds the broad bean in one slice, must pay the next “king cake”.)
Besides that, in Portugal we decorate the streets and our homes with various colour lights, and like many people around the word we decorate our Xmas tree with colour lights and balls. And below the Xmas tree we put de CRÈCHE representing the nativity of infant Jesus, with Virgin Mary and St Joseph.
Emanuel
