Well…, you would probably ask yourself the same question if you go to Paris, Amsterdam, Rome or any other international city destination. The thing is – most people who chose to leave their home country do it because they aren’t traditional Christmas family people.
Like us!
We just want to get away from the commercial hassle and spoil ourselves with good food and a nice hotel where your room gets cleaned up everyday – preferable in a city that offers a selection of good restaurants and cafes and preferably in a city that doesn’t close down completely.
Or we want to skip the horrible Danish Weather with a holiday in the sun close to the beach and healthy fish and seafood.
When we plan our travel we do a little research about local traditions, what ‘s happening etc – but most often we end up doing nothing but strolling around with frequent pit-stops for drinks and snacks. Not because we don’t want to do things – but we always realize that no matter where you are, Christmas is a family thing with traditions that don’t involve tourists.
So we always end up doing the same things we, do when we have a city break any other times during the year. Of course with a seasonal Christmas Touch like visiting a church if there is a seasonal event, going to markets with seasonal offers, tasting the local seasonal dishes etc.
If you are planning a Christmas Trip to Lisbon and have spend some time researching online you have probably reached this conclusion: The Portuguese Christmas Dinner is dried cod prepared in hundreds of local variations (Bacalhau) which they eat after midnight (They are Catholics) and the Christmas Cake is Bolo Rei made from Eggs Sugar and yeast topped with dried fruits.
Unless you have close Portuguese friends you will never get a chance to experience this (have you ever invited strangers to your own family Christmas?). So the closest you’ll probably get to a Portuguese traditional Christmas is joining their public events – Missa do Galo, shopping at their weekly markets and or visit the few seasonal family-with-kids offers .
All of Lisbon’s neighborhoods do something for Christmas – at least lights & decorations on main squares and streets. And in most neighborhoods they also do markets. Many of these activities are targeted the locals and involves schools, local church, associations & institutions. Since the information about when, what etc. happens internally its difficult to internally communication for a wider audience. You have to find them yourself 🙂
There are 3 different categories of markets for Christmas.
1) The traditional weekly markets that adapt to the season with Christmas items, Christmas offers and maybe a visit by Santa Claus.
2) Then you have the annual Christmas events initiated and organized by the municipality and/or organizations – usually Fairground like events.
3) Finally you have the 100% commercial events organized by shopping streets/neighborhoods or grassroots organizations.
On our Lisbon in Christmas map we have listed 10 of the most interesting markets that are easily accessible from Tings Lisbon.
I am not Christian – still I love visiting Churches – and preferably during a local ceremony like Easter, Christmas, Wedding etc. And if you are from a non-western culture I am 100% sure that joining a ceremony like a Christmas midnight mass will be a truly unique experience…
So if churches are on your itinerary why not join the Midnight Mass on 24 december. The five most popular Masses are listed on the map with links.
Like all other months Lisbon’s City Council publish a super magazine packed with cultural offers of all kinds.
Most of it hasn’t got anything to do with Christmas itself ‘just’ – but the still the season has an impact on December’s program. So like previous December issues all Christmas Concerts, Movies etc. get a special feature. The magazine are in all our rooms – but if you to get in Christmas mood we have made short cuts to the relevant pages 🙂
The Blogger and Hotel owner
I don’t know if it’s a tradition – but the years we have lived here in Lisbon there has always been one or more Circus in town.
We have never seen the shows – but since our grandchildren will stay with us this year we will definitely see one of them. At least to give the kids a non streaming experience.
The only 100% truly local Lisbon tradition I know of, is the ‘Healing of Dolls’ For Christmas at our local Dolls Hospital. I happened to read about this strange tradition on National Geographic. If you’re curious we blogged about it here.
No matter how much you want to do, see, taste and/or experience, Lisbon has something very unique compared to most other European countries: The mild Climate… perfect for strolling around and getting lost in Lisbon’s beautiful neighborhoods…
Remember – the best experiences are the ones you discover yourself!
Merry X-Mas
Thomas
