Portugal Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| (Portuguese: Dia de Portugal) | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Dia de Portugal |
| Observed by |  Portugal |
| Type | National holiday |
| Date | June 10 |
| Related to | Luís de Camões |
Portugal Day (Portuguese: Dia de Portugal), officially Dia de Camões, de Portugal e das Comunidades Portuguesas ("Day of Camões, Portugal, and the Portuguese Communities"), marks the date of Luís de Camões' death in June 10, 1580 and is Portugal's National Day. Camões wrote the Lusiads, Portugal's national epic poem celebrating Portuguese history and achievements. Although it is only officially celebrated in Portugal, Portuguese citizens and also Portuguese immigrants throughout the world celebrate this holiday.
The poem is mainly about the 16th century Portuguese explorations, which brought fame and fortune to Portugal. Camões' poem, considered one of the finest and most important works in Portuguese literature, became a symbol for the greatness of the Portuguese nation.
Camões was an adventurer, lost one eye fighting in Ceuta, wrote the Portuguese epic poem Os Lusíadas while travelling, and survived a shipwreck in Cochinchina (present-day Vietnam). According to popular lore, Camões saved his epic poem by swimming with one arm while keeping the other arm above water.
Camões became a national symbol. Yet, in the year of his death, Portugal was reigned by the king of Spain, known as Philip II of Spain / Philip I of Portugal, as he was the only heir to the throne at the time and consequently Portugal was ruled by three generations of Spanish kings. Sixty years later, in December 1, 1640, the country regained its independence by expelling the Spanish and making John of Bragança, King John IV of Portugal. Spanish King's tried many times to re-establish power over the Portuguese but failed. Since then, because Camões' date of birth is not known, the date of his death is celebrated as Portugal's national day.
During the authoritarian Estado Novo regime in the 20th century, Camões was used as a symbol for the Portuguese "race". In 1944, at the dedication ceremony of the National Stadium, António de Oliveira Salazar referred to June 10 as Dia da Raça - the Day of the Portuguese Race. The notion of a Portuguese "race" served his nationalist purposes.[1]Because of that, the June 10 celebrations were officially suspended during the Carnation Revolution in 1974. After 1974, the 10th of June celebrations resumed to include celebrating the Portuguese emigrants living all around the world (Comunidades Portuguesas, Portuguese communities).
In London, England, Portugal day is celebrated every year and this year celebrations will be held on the 21st of June in Streatham Common Park. Entry is always free.
The most notorious Portugal Day festivity, at least in the United States, is the Portugal Day Festival in Newark, New Jersey.
