In Portugal, a public holiday (Portuguese: feriado) is a calendar date, legally recognised and defined in the Labour Code[1][2][3][4][5] as well as the Concordat of 2004, on which most businesses and non-essential services are closed.
Public holidays in Portugal are a mixture of select religious (Roman Catholic) observances and days that have national historical or cultural significance.
These dates have changed over time: currently, there are 13 mandatory holidays and one optional (Carnival) that has to be specifically designated as a day off work (Portuguese: tolerância de ponto) each year by government decree (for public servants) or companies (for private sector).
Dia da Pombinha Dia do Bodo In 2012, the XIX Constitutional Government of Portugal controversially revoked four holidays – two civilian holidays (Republic Day and Restoration of Independence) and two religious ones (Corpus Christi and All Saints Day).
According to a Decree of 12 October 1910, municipalities were given the possibility of choosing a day that would represent their traditional festivals.