The Christmas spirit invaded Setúbal on the afternoon of November 19th with the arrival of Santa Claus, the opening of the Market and the Christmas Fair and the switching on of the Christmas lighting that embellishes various places in the city.

The city's streets filled with people to attend the various events that marked the start of the Christmas in Setúbal 2022 program, running until January 8.

The mayor of Setúbal, André Martins, visited the various entertainment venues in Baixa, and highlighted the importance of the investment made by the City Council in Christmas celebrations as a way of “support the dynamization of local trade so that it can better develop its activity. There are a lot of people on the street, which even made the journey we took in the Christmas Market difficult. This means that we are meeting people's expectations and I hope that over these 50 days we will always have a good concentration of people here.”

The municipality also intends to “to create all the conditions for the conviviality and animation of people and to promote the return of life to normality” after two years of restrictions due to the pandemic.

“The City Council is attentive to the need that people have to resume their lives. From a psychological point of view this is also very important and we want to have a council where people are excited. Therefore, this municipal investment is also in that direction.”

The arrival of Santa Claus in the city marked the official opening of the Christmas in Setúbal 2022 programme, which runs until January 8, full of entertainment in the streets and cultural and leisure events for the whole family.

Santa Claus “landed” in Largo da Misericórdia, accompanied by a show full of music and circus arts by XPTO Companhia de Artes Performativas that entertained young and old alike.

A giant carousel of sleighs, elves and guardians carrying magic spread joy in an itinerant parade through the city streets, passing through Praça de Bocage and ending at the central sign on Avenida Luísa Todi, where the Christmas Market is located.

Regional products and handicrafts, including gastronomy, clothing and jewellery, can be found in the three dozen stands that make up this Christmas market, which also includes the Santa Claus House, where it is possible to take pictures in a Christmas frame, and a crib.

The market is open every day between 10 am and 00 pm, with the exception of Christmas and New Year's Day, when it is closed, and on the respective eves, when it is open between 19 am and 00 pm.

The lighting of the Christmas lights at 17:00 was another highlight. Various parts of the city were illuminated, including the streets of the historic center and the shopping center and some public buildings, with the particularity that all lighting was entirely made up of low-energy LED lamps.

One of the points that aroused the greatest interest and was the setting for the capture of several photographs was a tunnel of light installed in Praça de Bocage, between the statue and the fountain.

The lighting is joined by Christmas decorations, with emphasis on the Town Hall building that opened its doors this Saturday, and during the afternoon alone, more than 700 people passed through that space.

The decoration, by Inês Duarte, from Florista Onda de Flores, is committed to returning to traditions with a nativity scene and a space dedicated to Santa Claus with a mailbox where children can deposit letters with wishes for this Christmas.

The Town Hall is open from Monday to Friday from 09:00 am to 20:00 pm and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 15:00 pm to 19:30 pm.

At Largo José Afonso, the Christmas Fair, which also opened on Saturday afternoon, has various entertainment equipment for the whole family, including an ice rink for children with a synthetic floor, taking into account the concern for energy savings.

There is also a food court and another for displaying handicrafts and regional products.

The Christmas Fair can also be visited until the 8th of January, from Monday to Thursday between 15 pm and 00 pm and from Friday to Sunday with extended hours until midnight.

There will be no shortage of entertainment at Christmas in Setúbal 2022 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, on the streets or in public spaces, such as Mercado do Livramento and Praça de Bocage, with the music of Charanga das Fresquinhas, ESTuna and Real Trovantuna do Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, the Dixit Band, the Setúbal Regional Conservatory, the bands of the Sociedade Musical Capricho Setubalense and the Sociedade Musical Filarmónica Providência, the Children's Choir of Setúbal or the Orquestra Típica e Cantares de Azeitão.

Itinerant animation of performing arts, dance shows, theater – by Teatro de Animação de Setúbal (TAS) and Teatro Oficina Multi Artes (TOMA) –, children’s magic and ventriloquism, face painting and balloon modeling and children’s choreography as well are part of the Christmas program.

Throughout the Christmas in Setúbal 2022 programme, the Luísa Todi Municipal Forum, the Charlot Cinema – Municipal Auditorium, the Church of the Convento de Jesus and the Casa da Cultura present a special Christmas program, while municipal spaces such as Casa da Baía, Moinho de Maré da Mourisca, the Michel Giacometti Work Museum, the Municipal Public Library and Casa do Largo also have initiatives dedicated to the court.

Among other initiatives, at Casa da Baía there will be a Christmas Market of the Setúbal Support Group of the Portuguese League against Cancer, on December 3 and 4, between 10 am and 00 pm, while at Moinho de Maré da Mourisca there will be a Christmas Market with regional products and handicrafts on the 18th and 00th, between 8 am and 11 pm.

The cultural program ends at 18 pm on January 00th, when the Alentejo choral groups “Os Amigos do Independente” and “Os Amigos dos Sadinos” sing the Janeiras in the Town Hall.

Full program IN THIS LINK