Talking About Christmas: Essential Natal Vocabulary

Christmas in Portugal, o Natal, is a family-centred, tradition-rich time of year.
Even if you don’t celebrate it yourself, you’ll hear a lot of seasonal vocabulary in shops, on the radio, and in everyday conversation.

Here are the most useful words and phrases to help you follow along.

🎄 The Basics

• Natal — Christmas
• véspera de Natal — Christmas Eve
• dia de Natal — Christmas Day
• festas — the festive period
• tradição — tradition

You’ll often hear:

• No Natal… → At Christmas…

🎁 Decorations & Traditions

• árvore de Natal — Christmas tree
• luzes — lights
• presépio — nativity scene
• decorações — decorations
• prendas — presents

In many homes, the presépio is just as important as the tree.

🍽️ Food & Family

Food is central to Portuguese Christmas celebrations:

• consoada — Christmas Eve dinner
• bacalhau — cod (the classic dish)
• rabanadas — Portuguese-style French toast
• bolo-rei — traditional Christmas cake
• família — family

A common sentence you might hear:

• Passamos o Natal em família.
  → We spend Christmas with family.

💬 Useful Seasonal Phrases

• Feliz Natal! → Merry Christmas!
• Boas festas! → Happy holidays!
• Bom ano novo! → Happy New Year!
• Que tenhas um bom Natal. → I hope you have a nice Christmas.

🧭 Final Thought

You don’t need advanced Portuguese to take part in Christmas conversations.
A handful of seasonal words is enough to understand what’s happening and to wish people well.

Listening for these words is a great way to stay connected to Portuguese during a busy (and delicious) time of year.