Carnival Tuesday in 2025

Carnival Tuesday in Portugal

While not an official bank holiday, Carnival Tuesday is a long-held celebration in Portugal and many services and amenities will be closed as civil servants are given the day off, as will many other employees.

In 2023, the prime minister said that "although Carnival Tuesday is not on the list of public holidays set by law, Portugal has a consolidated tradition of organising festivities during this period".

According to the order signed by António Costa, excepted are "services and agencies that, for reasons of public interest, should remain in operation during that period, under terms to be defined by the competent member of the Government.

When is Carnival Tuesday?

Carnival Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, takes place on the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the 40 day period that precedes Easter.

As the date of Easter changes each year so does the date of Carnival Tuesday. The earliest date Carnival Tuesday can be is Tuesday 3 February and the latest date is Tuesday 9 March.

In some parts of Europe, the Tuesday before Lent is known as 'Shrove Tuesday', shrove being an old word for confessing - a day to cleanse the soul before Lent.

During the 40 days before Easter, Roman Catholics are supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures, including the consumption of meat. This is intended to remember the fasting of Jesus, who spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his ministry. Indeed, it is proposed by some that the word carnival is derived from the Latin 'Carne Vale' which means a farewell to meat signifying the coming period without meat.

Despite its original religious beginnings, modern carnivals can hardly be described as solemn affairs, and the Latin American and Caribbean festivals share their excessive nature with similar European celebrations, where the festivals are an opportunity for final indulgence before lent itself - even though nowadays not many of the attendees to the carnivals will give up as much for Lent as their more religious ancestors did.

Carnival Tuesday Celebrations in Portugal

Today is the pinnacle of Portugal’s annual carnival celebrations, with parades taking place across the country.