Public holidays in Portugal

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. On some of these dates, public commemorative festivities are traditionally held.

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). Specific dates may alternatively be observed only at region or municipal level. Collective bargaining can specify that optional holidays are observed always and are also free for agreeing other dates that the specific company or sector agrees to observe as a holiday (e.g. bank holidays).