From December to January in the Eastern Algarve, festivities and decorations are abundant. It is easy to be enamored by the twinkling holiday lights and unknowingly walk right past something of significance.
Presépios
Presépios are nativity scenes and you will find many small ones in the most of common of places such as shop windows, cafes, and libraries. The larger ones are in churches, cultural centers, and even the firehouse. Little alcoves, perhaps extensions of a church or historical building house installments made by community groups like the Associação dos Escoteiros de Portugal (translates to Association of Scouts of Portugal, and is a youth group similar to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in the US).
In the Library
The translated placard reads: This nativity scene is emblematic of Christmas traditions in the Algarve. Presenting itself in the form of a throne or altar, it is traditionally decorated with lace cloths, oranges and wheat seeds, known as searinhas. The top step is reserved for the image of the Baby Jesus, with rich clothes. Although there are variations in decoration in different parts of the Algarve, such as the placement of sardine cans in coastal areas or the use of other fruits and vegetables, the symbolic value of this nativity scene is always the same. It represents a wish for blessing and good harvests for the coming year.
At a Cafe
This little cafe by the train station had coffee cups with wheat grass (searinhas). Searinhas is pronounced “seer-een-yaash” and when you see the NH together is like a Spanish double-ell.
At the Firehouse
I already wrote about this in the Month 1 blog post, so check it out near the end of that post.
Cultural Center
Vila Real de Santo António (abbreviated VRSA), is a Portuguese border town located in south eastern Algarve. It is separated from Spain by the Guadiana River.
The VRSA Cultural Center has the largest presépio in the country; it occupies the entirely of the cultural center — 240 square meters! This display is in its 22nd year and it costs 1€ to enter. Constructed from 20 tons of sand, 4 tons of stone dust, 3000 kilos of cork, and many accessories, it took 2,500 hours spread over 40 days to build.
What is special about this installation is the incorporation of characteristic elements of the Algarve region, such as the Praça Marquês de Pombal, the salt pans, the traditional Algarve waterwheels and the old cabins of Monte Gordo. New this year is the inclusion of a quarry with the bust of the poet António Aleixo, born in Vila Real de Santo António.
The detail is impressive. Overhead is a dark blue star-filled sky, with lighting that changes from daylight to night time. The animated and motorized pieces make the entire scene come to life. Upon entering, I noticed the animated birds flying overhead and lights in the buildings within the scene. Looking closer there is so much to see — farmers tending to land, bakers making bread in an outdoor oven, kids playing, and so on — really too many things to list out. Pictures only take you so far, so check out the video I made.
Food, Family, Music
The season is filled with family, music and food. Families gather in the squares to listen to music or visit the little Christmas villages set up for kids. Shops and bakeries showcase special foods for the Christmas meal.
For Christmas dinner, my landlord and her family had Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo (codfish roasted with onions, coated in mayonnaise and accompanied by cabbage). They also roasted octopus with potatoes and chicken soup. For lunch she said they had roast goat, turkey suckling pig, and stewed meat. She tells me that the most characteristic dish of the Portuguese Christmas dinner is cod cooked with cabbage and potatoes, rice pudding, and Bolo Rei. Bolo Rei translates to Kings Cake. The cake is shaped like a crown, adorned with candied fruit to look like jewels. This cake is only seen at Christmas time.
I found this blog post that shows what a Christmas with family looks like in Portugal. Here is the dessert table that my landlord sent me.
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