What’s on in December
From 7 December to 6 January, 2008
During the Christmas season, Funchal is the stage for a wide variety of cultural, ethnographic and artistic events. There are tableaux vivants and street performances all over the centre of Funchal.
The central reservations of Avenida Arriaga have been decorated with regional and seasonal motifs. They begin on 7 December but reach their height after 27 December.
There are concerts in the Municipal Garden, in Avenida Arriaga, at the Municipal Theatre, in several churches and at the stage beside the Legislative Assembly on New Year’s Eve.
And then there are the Christmas carols that pervade the streets as if by magic to everyone’s delight.
7 December
Starting Program:
Background music in Funchal downtown
Itinerant street revelry in Funchal downtown
Christmas decorations in Avenida Arriaga, in Largo da Restauração, in the Municipal Gardens of Funchal and also at the Legislative Assembly
Projects:
“Baroque Manger in a Box” - Avenida Arriaga
“Children’s Christmas: A Christmas Adventure” and “White Christmas” - Avenida Arriaga in front of the Regional Secretariat of Tourism and Transport
“Ethnographic Village” - in Largo da Restauração
“Gastronomic Christmas - Tastes and smells of Madeira” - Rua António José de Almeida, close to the Regional Legislative Assembly
“Christmas Manger” - Auditorium of the Municipal Garden
“Christmas and New Year celebrations” 2000/2006 - photo retrospective” - Avenida Arriaga in front of “Loja do Cidadão”
“Jesus Child of the World” - infoarte, SRTT - Avenida Arriaga, 20
Decoration in Avenida Arriaga in front of the Sé Cathedral, as part of the project “Thank You Flanders”
Market night
December, 23.rd
23 December is Christmas shopping day at the market. It is also the day at the market when we can feel a really traditional festive spirit before Christmas. The market and the bars around it stay open all night making it one of the longest and most fun-filled nights of the year in Funchal.
The 23rd is the day when the Madeirans traditionally buy their Christmas fare. Farmers come to Funchal from all over the island to sell their products at this busy time. Mercado dos Lavradores is suddenly too small for so much demand and so the surrounding streets are closed to traffic and fill up with farmers’ stalls.
It’s the perfect day for a visit to the market to see and buy all kinds of regional products: fruit, vegetables, flowers, sweets and traditional Christmas drinks.
In the early evening there is a carol concert in the fish market. There are bands, folk dancers and lots of fun throughout the area.
The bars and restaurants often stay open all night and fill the area with revelry until dawn.
Twelfth Night songs
January, 5th - 9.30 pm
On the evening of 5 January, the Madeiran folk-singing group Encontros da Eira will be performing traditional twelfth night songs in Funchal’s Municipal Garden Auditorium.
The Encontros da Eira Cultural Association collects preserves and disseminates traditional Madeira music. The group has recorded several disks and given many concerts and is a reference in the world of music in Madeira today.
On the evening of 5 January, Twelfth Night, Encontros da Eira will be giving a concert entitled Cantar os Reis, Cantar as Janeiras in Funchal’s Municipal Garden Auditorium.
Don’t miss this show, which closes the 2007-2008 New Year celebrations in Madeira.
Source: Madeira Tourism