Madeiran tradition has the Christmas cake baked on 8 December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Bolo de mel is dark and dense, made with mel de cana, the sugar-cane syrup Madeirans call honey, and heavy with spice, nuts and candied peel. It keeps for months, which is why it is given as a present, and it is broken by hand. A knife, the old story goes, spoils the flavour. For anyone who travels to eat, December is the month to be in Funchal.
Carne de vinha d'alhos is the island's Christmas Eve dish: pork marinated for days in wine, garlic and spices, then fried. You can eat it at dawn. From 16 to 24 December parish churches hold the Missas do Parto, early masses with carols played on small local guitars, and afterwards people gather in the churchyard over pork sandwiches, homemade liqueurs, bolo de mel and hot cocoa. It is a parish gathering rather than a performance, so pick the church nearest your hotel and stay near the edges.
Highs around 18°C and lows near 13°C put dinner on a terrace under the Christmas lights well within reason, though showers come on about 11 days, so keep a light jacket on the back of the chair. On New Year's Eve, fireworks launched from the hillsides, the waterfront and boats at sea turn the whole bay into one display, once recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest in the world. Tables facing the bay need booking well in advance.
If you can manage only one night, make it 23 December, the Noite do Mercado. The Mercado dos Lavradores stays open late for last-minute shopping, and the streets around it fill with stalls pouring poncha and homemade liqueurs and selling yet more pork sandwiches. Arrive hungry and expect a crush. Carol singers gather in the fish hall, and the night runs on into the small hours.