The Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities is a public holiday celebrated not only in Portugal, but also by Portuguese people all over the world. The celebrations take place annually on 10 June, marking the death of the national poet Luís de Camões in 1580.
Luís de Camões influenced the Portuguese language so profoundly that you can even hear it being referred to as “language of Camões”. He remains deeply engraved in people’s memories for his masterpiece Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads), Portugal’s national poem that highlights the country’s history and explorations in the 15th century. The epic tells the story of Vasco da Gama and his compatriots sailing around the Cape of Good Hope on a new route to India and – while doing so – merges mythology and historical facts.
Since the authoritarian Estado Novo regime used Camões as a nationalist symbol for the Portuguese “race”, the celebrations of the National Day were suspended during the Carnation Revolution in 1974. After that date, celebrations resumed and the day eventually became more inclusive. That is why today, it includes the Comunidades Portuguesas and celebrates the diversity and richness of the Portuguese culture and language throughout the world! Since 2016, the official ceremonies are shared between a city in Portugal and a foreign city with a strong Portuguese community.
Did you know?
- In love with cork? Portugal has got you covered – the country is the world’s largest cork producer and you will find almost every cork product imaginable on Portuguese markets.
- Portuguese monarchs hold both the record for the longest (73 years) and the shortest (20 minutes) reign in history.
- Portuguese is the official language of nine countries – not just in Portugal and Brazil, but also in Angola, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe (as well as the Chinese autonomous territory of Macau).
- Consequently, the majority of Portuguese speakers are not from Portugal – in fact, only 5% of the world’s Lusophones actually live in Portugal.
So, on Portugal Day, why not choose to practise your Portuguese and interpreting skills with our Speech Repository? There, you will find 148 speeches in Portuguese on various topics. What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!
Happy practice,
Your Speech repository Team