Easter in Portugal 2025: Discover the main traditions

How is Easter celebrated in Portugal?

Easter in Portugal 2025. An experience lived with great intensity and devotion. This holiday is a time of deep religious tradition and, on some occasions, is considered even more significant than Christmas. To underline the importance of the event, schools grant a week of break, giving families the opportunity to spend time together and participate in the celebrations.

Living in Portugal means being in constant contact with Portuguese culture. Knowing the traditions of a country is an important part of the experience of living here.
Are you still hungry for more? Here, in detail, are some of the main traditions of this Christian holiday.

Portuguese Easter Traditions

With an important Christian tradition, the country preserves numerous Portuguese festivals, processions and parades in celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Christ, spread throughout its territory. Let’s learn about some of them.

Compasso Pascal. Also known as Visita Pascal, it is one of the most traditional processions in the country. In this tradition, parishioners go from house to house throughout the villages, announcing their presence with bells. They carry with them the Crucifix of Christ adorned with flowers, which announces the resurrection.

After the blessing, the participants kiss the image of Christ and then it is time for the party. During the right it’s time for the typical foods of this very traditional date.

Donkey Procession in Braga. The procession “You will be my people”, popularly known as the Donkey Procession, takes place at night, every Holy Wednesday, always in the city of Braga.

Some episodes that precede the resurrection of Christ are revisited. To do this, people dress up as important biblical characters, such as Abraham, Jacob and Moses.

Procession of the Burial of the Lord. Also organized in Braga, because of the Holy Week of Braga, this procession is one of the most solemn. On this occasion, the participants carry the coffin of Jesus through the streets of the city, followed by Our Lady of Sorrows.

As a sign of mourning, the Capitulars and members of the Confraternity wear their heads covered and some allegorical figures wear a veil.

Flower Procession in the Algarve. Torches and carpets of flowers characterize the Easter celebrations. In the small village of São Brás do Alportel, just 20 kilometers from Faro.

Distinguished by its colors. The festivities take place on Easter Sunday, after the 10 o’clock Eucharist, in front of the main church of São Brás de Alportel. If you are there, do not forget to ask about the Eucharistic Procession, its official name.

Blessing of the lambs in Alentejo. It is true that in Portugal lambs, the name given to sheep under one year old, are widely consumed at Easter. But there are also those who celebrate them: in Castelo de Vide, in the Alentejo region, the animals are taken to church to be blessed.

This is a ceremony that was performed to protect the abundance of livestock. Today it symbolizes the peaceful coexistence between different cultures. You can follow it on Holy Saturday.

Dinner of the Butler of the Cross in Minho. A curious tradition takes place in the village of Fontão, in the Minho region. Every year, the “guardian of the cross” is elected among the inhabitants, a person who must pay for the Easter lunch for the entire village. It is not an easy task, because it involves about 600 people and half a ton of meat. The choice of the butler for the following year is always a moment of fun and relaxation: the wife of the host goes from table to table with a sprig of orange blossoms in her hand, pretending to leave it here and there and scaring the other guests, until she finally reveals the chosen one.

Cod’s Funeral in Beiras – After 40 days of Lent and tired of eating so much fish, the inhabitants of Penacova, a village 30 kilometers from Coimbra, literally judge the cod and condemn it to death.

This celebration is nothing more than a satirical procession, banned during the Portuguese Estado Novo because it was considered a pagan tradition. Ninety years later, the tradition was revived and still today represents a form of social criticism.

Thanks to the recovery of ancient texts, the staging of the cod trial includes verses written in quatrains, followed by a funeral procession and the burial of the fish, a ritual that also involves the mourners.

The burning of Judas in Montalegre. There is no forgiveness: in Montalegre, in the north of Portugal, every year the burning of the biblical character, represented by seven dolls, is celebrated. The action symbolizes the atonement of evils and vices.
Burning Judas is much more than burning a straw doll: it means purifying through fire; let the new and the pure be reborn, in the spirit of what Easter represents.

Present in Easter Traditions in Portugal There is nothing better than a good holiday tradition. In Portugal, at Easter, it is customary for “godchildren” to offer olive branches to their godfathers and violet branches to their godmothers on Palm Sunday.

Today, in larger cities, the tradition continues with a potted plant, which is given to the godfather or godmother with the same symbolism of the branch.

The following week, that is, on Easter Sunday, it is the godparents’ turn to bring gifts to their godchildren. And this is where the fun begins, when children and teenagers receive gifts, such as clothes and toys, chocolate eggs or even a folar, a typical sweet of this time of year.

What do they eat at Easter?

It is expected that cod, a traditional Portuguese dish, will be present on the tables during the celebrations. But this is not always true.

Although cod can be an option, typical Portuguese Easter dishes are very different from what we are used to, with a lot of red meat. Are you curious? Check them out below.

Lamb – After 40 days of eating fish, red meat is allowed on Easter Sunday. And lamb (or agnellino) is one of the most traditional dishes for this occasion.

It can be served at the table as a stew, or roasted with potatoes, seasoned with aromatic herbs, wine and lots of olive oil.

Suckling Pig – Very popular in the Bahia region, roast suckling pig is a must-have on the Easter table of many Portuguese.
Like lamb, this dish serves to mark the end of the fast from red meat, practiced during the period of Lent, which runs from Ash Wednesday to Easter.

Chanfana – An alternative to roast suckling pig is chanfana, a goat meat dish. Traditionally, the meat is roasted in clay pots and a wood-fired oven, soaked in red wine and seasonings such as garlic and bay leaves.

Legend has it that the dish was born in the Semide Monastery, in the village of Miranda do Corvo, located 25 kilometers from Coimbra. The city is known as the “capital of chanfana” and even has a museum dedicated to this delicacy.

Folar Sweet or savory – The presence of folar is a must in Portuguese Easter. Less common are the savory ravioli, which can be filled with veal, chicken, rabbit, pork, ham and salpicão. There is a lot of variety!
They can be tall or flat, larger or smaller. The main rule is that inside there must be whole hard-boiled eggs, with the shell.

Typical Easter sweets in Portugal

Folar, candied almonds, sponge cake… After the main course, you can’t miss the typical Portuguese desserts during Easter lunch. Discover some of these typical desserts of the Christian holiday.

Chocolate Eggs. Although not of Portuguese origin, the chocolate eggs we are used to can also be found here.

It was a tradition that also arrived in the country. It is common even tell children that it was the Easter Bunny who left the gift.

How much does an Easter egg cost in Portugal? From €5 to €20.

The tradition of Easter eggs is widespread in many countries with a Christian tradition. No exception here, where chocolate eggs are easily found in supermarkets.

Sweet Folar. After Palm Sunday, when in Portugal it is customary for godchildren to give their godparents sprigs of violets, Easter arrives. With it comes the return of the gift with a sweet folar.

This dish is very popular in Portugal and can be found throughout the country. With a drier dough and a light anise and cinnamon flavor. It contains a hard-boiled egg inside, symbolizing friendship and reconciliation.

Candied almonds. In Minho, tradition dictated that girls would offer eggs to boys, who would return the favor with almonds.

For many Portuguese, the dessert has remained linked to Easter. In some cities, there is still artisanal production of almonds, which are rolled in sugar syrup for a week, but which can also be covered in chocolate.

Minho sponge cake. In the Minho region, in the north of Portugal, folar can be replaced by sponge cake. One of the most famous is the Margarita sponge cake, which began to be produced in the 18th century.

The recipe was so successful that it conquered the Portuguese royal court, and even today this type of dessert is prepared in establishments founded in the 19th century.

Borrachos de Valença do Minho. A recipe handed down by the Franciscan nuns of the Convent of Bom Jesus. Borrachos de Valença do Minho are small fried dishes made with eggs, sugar, bread and cinnamon. They are typical of the northern region of Portugal.

At Easter or Christmas, it was tradition for this convent cake to be left by the fireplace to be offered to those who “came with God.”

What is it like to celebrate Easter in Portugal?

Celebrating a holiday in another country is a very personal experience. In Italy, the saying “Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi” has existed for a long time, hence the fact that this holiday does not have the same importance as it does for the Portuguese.

A very curious thing. The Portuguese give a lot of importance to Easter. Every week becomes a celebration and represents a break in the academic year in Portuguese schools and universities. You could take advantage of it and go on a trip, for example.

Living and Working in Lisbon, is always available to help you organize short trips, contact us.