Christmas in Madeira

Ask a Madeiran about Christmas and you will hear about a Festa, simply “the party”. It is the most important time of the year on the island, and it lasts much longer than a few days in December. Some towns switch on their lights in the second half of November, Funchal follows on 1 December, and in many homes the nativity scene stays up until Santo Amaro, on 15 January.

For visitors this is one of the best times to come. The weather is mild, the city centre is lit up every evening, and almost everything worth seeing is free.

Key dates for 2026

• Late November The first towns switch on their lights. Santa Cruz is usually first, around 22 November.
• 1 December The Christmas lights go on in downtown Funchal and the official season begins.
• 9 to 23 December Market nights in towns around the island, each on its own evening.
• 16 to 24 December The nine Missas do Parto, at dawn, in parishes across Madeira.
• 23 December Noite do Mercado, the market night in Funchal.
• 31 December The New Year’s Eve fireworks over Funchal bay.
• 5 January Cantar dos Reis, the Epiphany songs, in Funchal’s Municipal Garden.
• Early January Funchal’s lights go off. Last season they stayed on until 7 January, and the official programme runs to 10 January.

Exact programmes are published by the organisers during November and December, and we add them to the calendar as soon as they appear.

The lights of Funchal

From 1 December the centre of Funchal is decorated from the cathedral down to the seafront, with the main avenue, Avenida Arriaga, at its heart. The best way to see it is on foot, in the early evening. Start at the Sé, walk along Avenida Arriaga to the Municipal Garden and come back through the side streets towards the old town.

Around the avenue you will find a Christmas market with regional crafts, plants and food, an ethnographic village with folk music and traditional nativity scenes, and a Christmas village for children in the town hall square. Free workshops on the Avenida Arriaga stage teach you to make festive treats.

Missas do Parto: the dawn masses

On the nine days before Christmas, from 16 to 24 December, churches hold a mass at dawn, usually around six in the morning. The Missas do Parto, the “childbirth masses”, are among the oldest and most loved traditions on the island.

What makes them special is what happens afterwards. People stay outside the church in the dark, sharing hot drinks, liqueurs and snacks, and singing carols, often with a small band. Visitors are welcome. Bring something warm, as the mornings can be cool. Our page on the Missas do Parto has more on how to go.

Market night

On 23 December the area around the Mercado dos Lavradores, Funchal’s farmers’ market, turns into the biggest street party of the season. Families come for flowers, fruit and the last things for Christmas dinner, and by the evening the streets are full of music and people catching up with friends. Read more about Noite do Mercado.

Other towns hold their own market nights on different evenings in December, including Calheta, Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, Santa Cruz, Santana and São Vicente. They are smaller and more local, and a good reason to drive out of the city.

The lapinha: a Madeiran nativity scene

Many Madeiran families still build a lapinha at home. Instead of a stable, the nativity is set on a stepped stand, covered in paper and decorated with moss, flowers, fruit and clay figures, some of them handed down for generations. Small pots of wheat, sown in early December, sprout green in time for Christmas.

You can see traditional lapinhas in the ethnographic village in Funchal, and in churches and parish halls around the island.

What Madeirans eat at Christmas

• Carne de vinha d’alhos: pork marinated for days in wine, garlic and bay leaves, then fried. It is the dish of Christmas morning, often eaten with bread fried in the same pan.
• Bolo de mel: a dark, spiced cake made with sugarcane honey. It is broken by hand, never cut with a knife, and keeps for months.
• Broas and rosquilhas: honey biscuits and ring-shaped cookies, served to every visitor.
• Liqueurs: homemade liqueurs in many flavours, from passion fruit to aniseed, poured in small glasses.

Several free workshops and food fairs in December let you taste or make these yourself, including a weekend of traditional Christmas delicacies in Boaventura, on the north coast.

How the season ends

After New Year’s Eve the island slowly returns to normal. On 5 January traditional groups sing the Cantar dos Reis, the Epiphany songs, and in the first days of January the lights in Funchal are switched off. In many homes the last day of the Festa is Santo Amaro, on 15 January. Families eat the last sweets, take down the lapinha and “sweep the cupboards” to close the season.

Tips for visiting at Christmas

• Book early. Flights and accommodation for the last two weeks of December fill up months ahead, and prices rise as New Year approaches.
• Leave the car. Parking in the centre of Funchal is very hard on December evenings. Walk, take the bus or a taxi.
• Expect mild weather and some rain. Days are often around 18 to 20 °C on the south coast, but showers are common. Bring a light jacket. Our live webcams show the weather around the island.
• Shops and restaurants. Most shops close on 25 December and 1 January, and many restaurants are fully booked on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Reserve ahead.
• Stay for New Year. The fireworks on 31 December are the highlight of the season. See our New Year’s Eve guide.