Pão por Deus (Bread for God) is a very old tradition that translates into a ritual begging that takes place on 1st November – All Saints’ Day, which is associated with the practices related with the ceremonial meals of the cult of the dead “Dia dos Finados” (All Souls’ Day), in which it was customary to offer bread, cakes, wine and other foodstuffs to the deceased.
This tradition dates back to the year 1756, when Lisbon was trying to get back on its feet after the catastrophe caused by the earthquake of 1 November 1755, which destroyed a large part of the city. As poverty in Lisbon worsened, many of its inhabitants went out on November 1 to ask God for bread to “kill” hunger.
In the Azores, it was believed that a soul could turn bread sour. To prevent this from happening, the bread that was baked in the first batch, called “souls’ bread”, was placed on a chair, in the street by the house’s door, with a cloth covering it, so that the first person who passed by would take it for himself or give it to someone in need.
Nowadays, in our islands, the tradition of Bread for God is still kept, although with some influence from the pagan tradition of Halloween, imported from Anglo-Saxon countries that was introduced in our country. The bread and dried fruit that used to be asked for by the youngsters has been replaced by sweets, which are asked for door to door on Halloween night, where children go dressed up. However, in some places and parishes, there are still those who keep the tradition of Bread for God as it used to be, taking children out into the street on the first day of November, begging from door to door, with their cloth bags and reciting verses as:
“Bread for God,
Faithful of God,
Bread in the bag,
Walk with God”
Last modified: 27 de October, 2022
