There is a country in Europe that loves being sad. Ideally, a place with no sunshine, no beaches or no fun activity is a gloomy place for us. However, this country in Europe has all those but still they cherish the idea of being sad.
Portugal has a culture of melancholy, which is hard not to notice. You see it imprinted on people's gloomy expressions. In Portugal, even the statues that lodge prime real estate in Lisbon's public squares are faces of sadness. Furthermore, "no one tells you to have a nice day. No one particularly cares if you have a nice day because chances are they are not having a nice day either. If you ask a Portuguese person how they are doing, the most enthusiastic reply you can expect is Mais ou Menos (so so)," says Eric Weiner in an article on Portugal for the BBC.
Somehow, the Portuguese people are disinclined to happiness, as supported by the UN World Happiness Report. Portugal is a sad land and ranked 93rd of 157 countries according to the UN's latest World Happiness Report. However, it appears as though the Portuguese are satisfied with their discontentment, and, in an odd but clarifying way, essentially enjoy it.
Portugal's joyful sadness is condensed in a single word: Saudade. The term is one that cannot be translated. Saudade is a yearning, an ache for a person or place or experience that once brought great pleasure. It is similar to nostalgia but, unlike nostalgia, one can feel Saudade for something that has never happened, and likely never will.
Moreover, Portugal is home to fado music, a sad melody that only Portuguese can give justice. Specifically, fado music is gloomy set to a melody. Fado literally means fate or destiny, and therein rests its unhappy beauty. The music genre originated approximately two centuries ago in hardscrabble, working-class neighborhoods of Lisbon. The first fado singers, or fadistas as they are locally called, were prostitutes and the wives of anglers who may or may not return from sea. The singers of this melancholy music are first name basis with uncertainties and sadness.
