Unfortunately, like other cultures, the Portuguese in Portugal (at least in Lisbon) don’t really celebrate holidays and traditions like most other cultures. Their government decides each year which national holidays will be acknowledged that year. Since I have been here, most holidays have just been another day off from school without any sort of celebration. And unlike The States, Halloween and Thanksgiving are a couple of holidays that aren’t acknowledged here. The Portuguese are big into soccer, especially since they won the Eurocup this past year. However, since I have been here I haven’t been to any soccer games or followed European football.
I have also been rather busy with work and exploring different cities and traveling across Europe. If you’re looking for a city with live entertainment constantly on the radar, Lisbon may not be your first choice. You have to really dig deep in order to find stuff like that, especially since Portugal is such a small country and goes unnoticed by most. Not a big celebrity scene.
