How the Carnation Became the Symbol of Portugal's Revolution
- liveLUSO
- Apr 23
- 4 min read
The peaceful nature of Portugal's 1974 revolution is a source of national pride and a history that's become symbolized by the red carnation. How so? It all starts with a lady named Celeste.
Dia 25 de Abril: The Day that Portugal's Dictatorship Ended
To tell the story of the Celeste and her carnations, we must start with a little background on April 25, 1974 (or Dia 25 de Abril in Portugal), the day a military coup overthrew Portugal's long-lasting, authoritarian Estado Novo regime established by fascist leader, António de Oliveira Salazar.
Although Portugal's dictatorship was less violent than the fascist dictatorships of Francisco Franco (Spain) or Benito Mussolini (Italy), it was longer — lasting 48 years — and oppressive nonetheless. Much of the country lived in poverty and the government exercised aggression through PIDE (Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado), the "secret" political police. At times, PIDE was known to torture, imprison, or even kill those who were opponents of Salazar's regime.
After Salazar suffered a stroke in 1968, power transferred to Marcelo Caetano. However, Caetano struggled to maintain the same grasp over Portugal that Salazar had. He allowed for greater political tolerance and freedom of the press, which gave opponents a greater public voice.
There was also growing discontent among the military and youth over the ongoing Portuguese Colonial War in its African colonies, especially as several movements for colonial independence were taking root on top of pressure from the international community for Portugal to decolonize.
The song that signaled a revolution. It starts about 40 seconds into the video.
Like a slow pressure cooker whose lid is ready to pop, a secret coup was organized by Portugal's Armed Forces Movement (Movimento das Forças Armadas, MFA), which comprised of military officers who opposed the regime and the Portuguese Colonial War. It was so secret that the revolution caught the world off guard, including those who were closely watching Portugal (check out firsthand accounts from American diplomats, James Cason and Richard Post, who were stationed in Portugal at the time of the revolution).
The coup had two musical signals. The first signaled the coup to begin — it was the airing of Paulo de Carvalho's song, "E Depois do Adeus (And After Goodbye)." The song was actually Portugal's entry in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest which had taken place just over 2 weeks before the coup.
The second signal aired almost one and a half hours later at 12:20 am on April 25 — a radio station played a song by banned political folk singer, Zeca Afonso, called "Grândola, Vila Morena." This signal alerted MFA rebels to take over strategic points of power in the country.
Within six hours, Caetano and the Portuguese government conceded in what was a largely peaceful revolution — four people in total were killed. After news spread of the successful overthrow of the government, Lisboetas (the people of Lisbon) took to the streets to celebrate with the soldiers. And so the story of Celeste de Caeiros and her carnations begins.
How Celeste dos Cravos and Her Carnations Became the Symbol of Peaceful Resistance
If you're well versed in Portuguese history, you know that this revolution is popularly called the Carnation Revolution. That's both because of its peaceful nature and because immediately after the coup, Portuguese soldiers marched with red carnations in the barrels of their guns. The latter was interpreted to be a statement about their resistance to shoot their guns. But what if we told you that this is just lore? Well...kind of. Let's just say, that's not the whole story.
Strolling into a Revolution
On the morning of April 25, 1974, Celeste Caeiros was walking through the streets of Lisbon with an armful of carnations. They were leftover from a work celebration that had been canceled that day. Serendipitously you might say, she walked straight into Portuguese soldiers and tanks making their way to the government building that housed the ruling leader, Marcelo Caetano.
Curiosity got the best of Celeste and she asked a soldier what they were doing. After politely responding, he asked her if she had a cigarette. She didn’t. Instead, she offered him a red carnation. He accepted and placed it into the barrel of his gun. She offered another solider a carnation and then another. Before she knew it, everyone started looking for carnations and doing the same.
Photographs captured the occasion — and in that moment, unbeknownst to her, she became Celeste dos Cravos (cravos means carnations in Portuguese). Just like that, images of soldiers marching with carnations in their guns became immortalized and the carnation became the symbol of Portugal's revolution — one of the most peaceful in history as almost no shots were fired.
Watch Celeste dos Cravos tell her story on RTP
Dia de Liberdade: Portugal's Day of Freedom and Liberation
Today, the revolution is commonly referred to as the Carnation Revolution and is commemorated on the 25th of April, a national holiday in Portugal called Dia de Liberdade (Freedom Day). In honor of the revolution, Lisbon’s iconic suspension bridge —you know the one, it looks just like San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge — was named Ponte 25 de Abril (April 25 Bridge).
While the Carnation Revolution successfully brought an end to an oppressive regime, the transition to a new government was not swift. Over time though, the aftermath of the revolution re-introduced democracy to Portugal and opened the door for independence in Portugal’s colonies.
After establishing a functioning democracy, in 1986 Portugal entered Europe's greatest against allyship for peace and democracy, the European Union. And so far, peace has endured in Portugal, civil liberties have flourished, and economic opportunity has grown tremendously. Today, Portugal ranks highly in Global Freedom with a score of 95 out of 100.
Do you have a zest for Portuguese culture? An unbridled joy for the charisma of Portugal's people and traditions? Become a Patron of Portuguese Culture and join those who share your passion to support liveLUSO, the first online Portuguese community.
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