Paper short abstract:

Emotions  like nostalgia  of traditional values and patterns, are displayed  during  sacred and profane festivities  in diaspora communities  in modern Portugal.This is the result of a  research  carried out  in  these communities, where people’s  creativity  is aimed at preserving heritage and ancient customs in  a host society. 

Paper long abstract:

Portugal  has a reputation for a  long tradition of  catholic practice  but  society and religious beliefs have gone  through  a  recent process of  change.  Less people  attend church celebrations,  but  religiosity still survives in other forms as rituals and  different festivities.This paper is the result of a research on various forms  of these reformulated religious beliefs and practices in modern Portugal,  in different social environments  -  where the influence  of recent newcomers  from other countries  shows the importance of  various cultures, mostly from Brazil and African countries where Portuguese language and culture have been kept as a heritage of the past. Emotions  like nostalgia,  linked to traditional values and patterns, home customs and beliefs, are strongly felt and displayed  during  sacred and profane festivities in these diaspora communities  living in rural and urban areas in  modern Portuguese society.Some of the formulas implemented by these communities are extremely innovative  practices, which gradually have merged with  the local customs and became part of the new Portuguese society of this  millennium.The globalization paradigm is also analysed in this context. The sense of the Real  and  Reality and their representation is the object of a semiotic approach to this  anthropological phenomena.