The Labour Code fixes thirteen mandatory public holidays, four of them tied to datable events in Portugal's history.
- Article 234(1) of the Labour Code, as amended by Law 8/2016, fixes thirteen mandatory public holidays.
- Four of those holidays mark datable events: 25 April, 10 June, 5 October and 1 December.
- Law 23/2012 abolished four mandatory holidays and Law 8/2016 restored them.
- Law 8/2016 names them: Corpus Christi, the Establishment of the Republic on 5 October, All Saints' Day on 1 November, and the Restoration of Independence on 1 December.
- While the abolition stood, Portugal had nine mandatory holidays instead of thirteen.
Source: Código do Trabalho (Lei n.º 7/2009), artigo 234.º; Lei n.º 8/2016, artigo 1.º
Two dates are defensible for the founding of Portugal, and the difference between them is who did the recognising.
- The date taught in Portuguese schools is 1143, the Treaty of Zamora, by which Alfonso VII of León began addressing Afonso Henriques as king.
- The date with the strongest surviving document is 1179: the papal bull Manifestis Probatum of 23 May, in which Pope Alexander III recognised Afonso Henriques as king.
- The same bull recognised Portugal as a kingdom.
- The original is held at the Torre do Tombo national archive and a reproduction is published by the national archives directorate.
- The difference is the kind of recognition: in 1143 a neighbouring king recognises him, in 1179 the Holy See does.
Source: Bula Manifestis Probatum (23 de maio de 1179)
The Constitution writes out two dates from Portuguese history: 5 October 1910 and 25 April 1974.
- Article 11 of the Constitution defines the flag as the one adopted by the Republic established by the Revolution of 5 October 1910.
- The Constitution's preamble states that on 25 April 1974 the Armed Forces Movement overthrew the fascist regime.
- 5 October 1910 ends the monarchy and establishes the Republic; the holidays statute calls it the Implantação da República.
- 25 April 1974 ends the Estado Novo.
Source: Constituição da República Portuguesa, artigo 11.º e preâmbulo
The 1 December holiday has a legal name, and that name says what happened in 1640.
- Law 8/2016, which restored the 1 December holiday, names it the Restoration of Independence.
- Between 1580 and 1640 the Portuguese and Spanish crowns were held by the same monarchs.
- 1 December 1640 marks the end of that union of crowns and the start of the Braganza dynasty.
Source: Lei n.º 8/2016, de 1 de abril, artigo 1.º
A decree-law fixes the name and date of Portugal Day, Camões Day and Portuguese Communities Day, but does not say what it commemorates.
- Decree-Law 20-A/2016 of 27 April provides that Portugal Day, Camões Day and Portuguese Communities Day is celebrated on 10 June.
- The decree sets out who organises the commemorations, but does not state what the day commemorates.
- The link to the poet Luís de Camões and to the date of his death is tradition, not statutory text.
Source: Decreto-Lei n.º 20-A/2016, de 27 de abril
The Constitution Portugal lives under today was approved on 2 April 1976, after the regime fell in 1974.
- The enacting formula reads: the Constituent Assembly, meeting in plenary session on 2 April 1976, approves and decrees the following Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.
- The text is published by the Assembly of the Republic.
- 1974 is when the regime fell; 1976 is when the Constitution still in force was approved, revised several times since.
Source: Constituição da República Portuguesa
The dates named by the Constitution and by the holidays statute, from the founding of Portugal to the Constitution in force.
- 1143, the Treaty of Zamora, and 1179, the Manifestis Probatum bull: the two defensible answers to when Portugal was founded.
- 1640: on 1 December the union of the Portuguese and Spanish crowns ends and the Braganza dynasty begins.
- 1910: on 5 October the monarchy ends and the Republic is established.
- 1974: on 25 April the Armed Forces Movement overthrows the Estado Novo.
- 1976: on 2 April the Constituent Assembly approves the Constitution still in force.
Source: Constituição da República Portuguesa, artigo 11.º e preâmbulo; Lei n.º 8/2016, artigo 1.º