The legend of the Portuguese Rooster and Portuguese Rooster Pillows!

The Rooster of Portugal Accent Pillow
by aportugueselove

Hi Zazzlers and friends!


I'll be short in words today because my cold got worse and I am about to go to bed with a cup of hot tea, honey, and cinnamon.

This Rooster=Galo is the national non-official symbol of Portugal and its stands for honesty, faith, justice, and luck. I forgot if I ever told you the legend of the Rooster of Barcelos on this blog. Barcelos is a small town in the north of Portugal. It is known for its pottery and clay sculptures. The most famous is the colorful clay rooster!!

There are several versions of the legend of the Rooster of Barcelos but they are all more or less the same. It goes like this. Once upon a time, Barcelos's inhabitants were alarmed by a crime - someone had stolen a silver piece from an important landowner. Suspicion fell on a stranger from the neighboring Spanish province of Galiza. He was just passing by on his way to worship St. Tiago of Compostela following a pilgrimage route also known as the Way of St James, which is still walked by devout Christians to this day. Nobody believed him but he kept saying he was innocent. He was imprisoned and condemned to death by hanging. As for the last request, he asked to see the Judge once more to beg for his life. When he arrived at the Judge's house he was eating a fine meal with guests. Again, the magistrate did not believe him, he just laughed and said, So you say you're innocent?!! The pilgrim told him that he was, he was innocent, he could swear it before God! He looked everyone in the eye but no one showed him any mercy. All his pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears. Then he saw a servant carrying in a large platter with a roasted rooster. He reached him and fell to his knees. Good Lord, he implored, as sure as I'm innocent, so will this rooster crow! The Judge sent him to death as nothing happened in the following minutes. But when the man was about to die in the gibbet the dead rooster stood up on the table and crowed! It was a sign of God! The Judge proclaimed that a lesson should be learned, that is, never to sit in quick judgment of our fellow man. The pilgrim was immediately set free and the rooster, henceforth, became a reminder and a symbol of honesty, faith, justice, and good luck. 

Years later the pilgrim returned to the town of Barcelos to carve the Cruzeiro do Senhor do Galo which is now housed in the Museu Arqueológico in Barcelos. The rooster of Barcelos stands for Honesty because the pilgrim was innocent and therefore God provided him a miracle. It also stands for Faith as the pilgrim had faith in God, so he was saved. The Portuguese Rooster also stands for Justice as we should avoid making snap judgments or accusations without proof. As for LUCK, Good luck rooster or Lucky rooster are also popular names for Barcelos Rooster. The rooster brought good luck to the pilgrim. So it's nice to have one around and that's why you can find it everywhere!