This Saturday not only resonated as the celebration of the armistice from Compiègne to Contrexville. Since the morning, we have been working not far from the War Memorial, namely in the Saint-Ivre Room, the headquarters of the Portuguese Association.
It must be said that there was a lot of work to do, as one of the volunteers, Josephine Galles, sums up: “There were about fifteen of us preparing chestnuts, peeling potatoes, and chopping cabbage. In total, we had over 60kg of chestnuts, 27.5kg of potatoes, 5kg of cabbage and five chorizo. »
Half the members
Preparing gargantua breakfast? Not really, but out of respect for the Lusitano ritual of separation, the one that takes place on November 11th, Saint Martin’s Day. And finally, Saint-Martin is the French version: “It’s the festival called São Martinho in Portugal. It’s our tradition that we try to perpetuate in France. Every year, we offer our members hot chestnuts that we serve with Portuguese cabbage soup.”
Why talk about separation rituals? Sandrina Simoes explains: “We do it to celebrate the last dried fruit of the year before winter. It is served with agua pé and jeropiga or new wine. It is the equivalent of Beaujolais.” Or a final group meal that precedes the arrival of cold weather, and is less suitable for large gatherings. .
At 5 p.m., no less than 80 people gathered for this communal and joyful tasting. More than one supervisor is present, but in the end he represents only half of the members of the association, led by Marcelo Augusto. A sign of the loss of tradition? No, instead a lot of people were away for the weekend!
