If you look at next year’s calendar, you will see that some of the holidays in 2023 present themselves as a good opportunity to organize the so-called “getaways”, thus taking advantage of the long weekends or the so-called “bridges”.Thus, the first conclusion to be drawn is that next year you can count on five big weekends🇧🇷 That is, the 2023 calendar has five holidays that fall on a Monday or Fridaywhich means you can do the much desired “bridge”.From the outset, you can count on 13 mandatory holidays, civil and religious. Also, as always, there is also an optional one – Carnaval.The bad news is that some unfortunately fall on the weekend, which does not translate into great advantages for most of the population. They are: January 1st, Sunday 🇧🇷New Year;9th April, Sunday 🇧🇷 Easter;And the 10th of June, Saturday 🇧🇷 day of Portugal.There are still the traditional municipal holidays which are always a “bonus” when it comes to rest for those who work in these councils. If you want, you can find out all the holidays by municipality, as they are listed online.
List of holidays in 2023 (in each month)
January
The beginning of the year does not bring good news in this regard. This is because the first week of the year starts on a Sunday, so the New Year (day 1) it is one of the four holidays that fall during the weekend.
February
In February we have the usual Carnival Tuesday, the 21st🇧🇷 This holiday is usually optionalthat is, it depends on the government, municipalities and companies. According to the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT), “Carnival Tuesday may be observed as a holiday, when provided for in an instrument of collective labor regulation or in an employment contract (negotiable will of the parties)”.That is, in case the contract or collective agreement so determines, Carnival is a mandatory holiday like the others and must be remunerated as such. .In short, if you have the privilege of having this day off, enjoy it. It is the first opportunity he has to bridge the gap and thus take advantage of the first four rest days of the year. If you can, take a “getaway”.
April, the month of Easter, also has holidays.
In this month we have the traditional Easter where you can count on a long weekend. Thus, we have: a Good Friday, the 7thas the name implies, to a Friday; and to Easter on the 9th, as usual, on a Sunday. But the opportunities to bridge the gap in April do not end there. So, on the 25th there is Freedom Dayon a Tuesday.
May
The month of May starts right away with a holiday – Labor Day (day 1)🇧🇷 The good news is that it falls on a Monday. That’s right! You can do one more extended weekend with three rest days.
June
In month six, we have the holiday of Body of God, day 8🇧🇷 Here, too, you have the opportunity to “bridge” as it falls on a Thursday. But not everything is good news! There is yet another holiday, June 10th – Portugal Daybut this time it will be on a Saturday. if you work in Lisbon or Porto, take heart that this is the month of Santos Populares🇧🇷 Thus, we have: In the capital, 13th – Santo Antóniowhich will be held on a Tuesday (make the most of Lisbon’s festive days). 24th – Saint John, which will be on a Saturday (less lucky for the “portuenses”). Even so, be sure to take advantage of these days, which are always full of revelry!
Also in August, the month of vacation, there is a holiday
In the middle of summer and vacation time for most Portuguese people, the month of August brings us another holiday, the Day of the Assumption of Our Lady, August 15 (falls on a Tuesday) and you can do one more “bridge”.
October
The month of October brings with it the Republic Day, October 5🇧🇷 This holiday falls on a Thursday and you can once again take a few more extra rest days, making an extended weekend.
November
With the end of the year approaching, this month starts right away with a holiday, day 1 – All Saints Day, which will be the only public holiday in 2023 to be on a Wednesday.
Holidays in 2023: December the month of parties
Finally, we reach December and with it comes the so desired Christmas and New Year’s Eve season🇧🇷 So, in this last month of the year, you can count on three holidays🇧🇷 And the good news is: you can spend a long weekend in all of them. So we have:Day 1, Restoration of Independenceto a Friday;The 8th, Immaculate Conceptionlike a Friday; Finally, the 25th – Christmasa Monday.Read more: Working on weekends and holidays: know your rights
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