The mentality and traditions of the Portuguese are bound up with the many historical events that brought them into contact with distant cultures, from Africa to Asia and Brazil, but also with a strong attachment to the land, the sea and the Catholic faith. Here we gather the main ones; many have their own pages.
Houses, azulejos and windmills
Typical of some coastal areas, such as Costa Nova near Aveiro, are the fishermen's houses painted in coloured stripes, the palheiros. In the south whitewashed houses with yellow or blue trim dominate, while in towns facades are often covered in azulejos, painted ceramic tiles that arrived from Moorish Spain and became a national art form: they decorate churches, railway stations, palaces and even metro stations. Lisbon's Museu Nacional do Azulejo tells their story. Mills are another traditional feature: across the country there are windmills, especially on the hills of the centre and in the Algarve, and watermills, some still working.
Festivals
The calendar is full of religious and folk festivals. In June the popular saints are celebrated: Saint Anthony in Lisbon, on the night of 12-13 June, with grilled sardines, pots of basil and the neighbourhood parades on Avenida da Liberdade; Saint John in Porto and Braga, on the night of 23-24 June, when people take to the streets with plastic hammers and leeks; Saint Peter at the end of the month. Lisbon's festivals have their own page.
In the north the romarias, pilgrimages and patron saint festivals with processions, music and fairs, are deeply felt, such as that of Senhora da Agonia in Viana do Castelo in August, famous for its traditional costumes and flower carpets. At Fátima the great pilgrimages of 13 May and 13 October draw hundreds of thousands of faithful. In central Portugal, in Tomar, the Festa dos Tabuleiros is held every four years, with girls carrying tall trays of bread and flowers on their heads. And then there are Carnival, Christmas and New Year.
Symbols and crafts
Portugal's most popular symbol is the galo de Barcelos, the colourful rooster linked to a medieval legend about a pilgrim wrongly accused and saved by the miraculous crowing of a roast cockerel. Other symbols include the gold filigree hearts of Viana, Bordallo Pinheiro's cabbage-shaped ceramics and the ceramic swallows hung on facades. See the page on Portuguese crafts.
Bullfighting and the horse
Traditional spectacles include Portuguese bullfighting, which differs from the Spanish kind because the bull is not killed in the arena: it is fought by the cavaleiro on horseback and then immobilised bare-handed by the forcados. It is, however, an increasingly contested tradition, as described on the page on bullfighting in Portugal. Closely linked to it is the Lusitano horse, one of the oldest and finest breeds in the world.
Fado and saudade
The most popular song form is fado, an urban song born in Lisbon and accompanied by the twelve-string Portuguese guitar and the classical guitar, expressing deep melancholy, UNESCO intangible heritage since 2011. It is linked to saudade, the feeling of longing that the Portuguese see as part of their identity. Every region also keeps its own folk music and dances, such as the vira of the Minho and the polyphonic singing of the Alentejo, cante alentejano, also on the UNESCO list.
Everyday life
Everyday habits include coffee at the counter, a bica in Lisbon and a cimbalino in Porto, with a pastel de nata, a passion for football, divided between Benfica, Sporting and Porto, long lunches and grilled fish. The Portuguese are courteous and somewhat reserved: polite forms such as o senhor and a senhora are widely used, and friends greet each other with two kisses on the cheeks. To discover the food, see the page on Portuguese cuisine.
See also religion in Portugal, music and football.