Happy Easter!
Traditional Portuguese Easter table with folar de Páscoa, roast lamb, bacalhau, marzipan sweets, and chocolate eggs under spring sunshine
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Easter in Portugal is a joyful time with charming traditions, magnificent processions, and irresistible feasts! Each region has its own special feel, and towns come alive with parades, folk music, and family gatherings in the golden spring sunshine
Portugal’s cuisine is as rich and varied as its landscape. Tradition says the faithful should abstain from eating meat – although some priests nowadays say it’s not compulsory, recommending some type of fasting as a sign of penitence for Christ’s suffering. As in many other Catholic countries, the tradition prompted the Portuguese to seek alternative food, and the choice was fish, especially the famous dry salted codfish known as ‘bacalhau’ served on Good Friday. Roast lamb is usually eaten on Easter Sunday, a heritage from the Jewish custom which celebrates the Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt and the sacrifice of the lambs in the story of their flight to freedom.
One food typically associated with Easter is the ‘folar de Páscoa’, a type of sweet bread resembling cake, with an egg boiled in the shell being incorporated into the dough. This represents rebirth and the resurrection of Christ. In the Algarve, the ‘folar’ is deliciously indulgent. and sticky sweet, with swirled layers of delicious, melted sugar, cinnamon and caramel!
And what’s Easter without treats? From marzipan sweets shaped like fruit and animals, to cakes infused with figs, oranges, almonds, carob, or pumpkin. Add in creamy rice pudding, sugar-coated almonds, and, naturally, an assortment of chocolate eggs, and your table becomes a feast!
Now, imagine experiencing all of this in your very own holiday haven under the Portuguese sun. Our dedicated multi-lingual team based in Portugal are here to help with your property search. Email hello@PortugalProperty.com or call us on +351 308 800 878 or 0800 014 8201 free from the UK.
Feliz Páscoa! Joyeuses Pâques! Frohe Ostern! Happy Easter!
Published in: Guide to Portugal / Miscellaneous / Portuguese Life