Portugal Day



When is Portugal Day?
Portugal Day, officially known as Dia de Camões, de Portugal e das Comunidades Portuguesas ('Day of Camões, Portugal, and the Portuguese Communities'), commemorates the death of Luís de Camões on June 10th 1580. It is Portugal's National Day.

History of Portugal Day
Camões wrote the Lusiads, Portugal's national epic celebrating the country's history and achievements. While it is only officially celebrated in Portugal, Portuguese descendants across the world may also celebrate the holiday.

The Lusiads focuses on the Portuguese explorations in the 16th century, which greatly expanded the influence of Portugal. The poem is considered to be the most important piece of Portuguese literature and has become a symbol for the glory of the Portuguese nation.

Camões was a colourful character. He lost one eye fighting and was shipwrecked off the coast of present-day Vietnam. According to legend, during the shipwrecking, he kept his epic poem dry by swimming with one arm and keeping the other arm above water.

In the year that Camões died, Portugal lost its independence to Spain and began a period of rule by three generations of Spanish kings. It was over 60 years before the country regained its independence.

For such national days, it is common practice to use a date of birth to mark the national day, but since Camões' date of birth was not known, the date of his death is celebrated instead.

There are official celebrations involving the President, Prime Minister and other high ranking people. Awards/Honors are given out and there is a military exhibition.

During the rule of the Portuguese authoritarian regime up to 1974, Camões was used as a symbol for the Portuguese 'race' by the nationalists. Because of that, the June 10th celebrations were officially suspended during the Carnation Revolution in 1974, resuming as a more inclusive celebration including commemorating Portuguese communities around the world.

There are official celebrations with the President, Prime Minister and other high ranking people. 

Recently it has become a custom to split Portugal Day celebrations between a city within Portugal and a foreign city with a significant Portuguese presence (Rio de Janeiro or Paris, for example).

In the USA, there are sizeable Portuguese American communities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, California, and Hawaii.

Source: https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/portugal/portugal-day

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Drug Use in High School and College

Image
Drug use and experimentation tend to proliferate on college campuses. For those who can afford this experience, campuses are often a sanctuary for drug use. In high school, drinking alcohol was my only experience with substance use. Right before college, I was required to partake in an online program about alcohol – one that demonstrated how to minimize harms associated with drinking, such as not drinking if you are planning on driving, staying well hydrated, eating before you drink, knowing how many alcoholic beverages you’ve had, or spacing out the drinks you are already consuming. These strategies help to keep people safe and prevent deaths, and are referred to as harm reduction. In my freshman year, I found myself in a position where drugs of all kinds were almost literally falling into my lap. How did this happen? I was encountering drugs I had never even heard of left and right, and with the emergence of online drug markets, it could be as easy as shopping on Amazon. I
Read more

Mental Health Resources

Image
All of these are for the United States. If you are somewhere else and are in need of help, please reach out and we'll do our best to put you in contact with the right place. Transportation Easterseals Project Action Services Animals Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals Treatment/Research The Mental Health Research Association (NARSAD) Psychiatric Information  American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) American Psychiatric Association- Practice Guidelines American Psychiatric Association – Healthy Minds Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation National Organizations on Children’s and Adult Mental Health Anxiety Disorders Association of America Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center Bulimia Resource Guide Center for Mental Health Services Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Recovery International  SAFE Alternatives Schizophrenia.com Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc. National Organizations on Children’s Mental Health Attention De
Read more

National Aunt and Uncle Day

Image
National Aunt and Uncle’s Day on July 26th honors a special set of relatives we look up to throughout our lives. During holidays, family events and sometimes sleepovers, aunts and uncles often hold an extraordinary place in our hearts. They fill our lives with fun, laughter, love and incredible memories.   This holiday provides an opportunity to spend time with our parents’ siblings we trusted and leaned on growing up.  It would be an excellent time to get out the old photo albums. Look through the pictures, and relive the memories of earlier days around the Christmas tree or at the 4th of July picnic or maybe at the beach vacation that included those special aunts and uncles in your life. Get together with your relatives and create new memories. Remind them of all the reasons you enjoy having them in your life. Celebrate the lessons they’ve taught you and share them with the next generation.  Another way to celebrate the day is by documenting family memories and history.
Read more