Portugal has taken austerity measures to a new level with the decision to scrap¹ four of its 14 public holidays.

葡萄牙采取了新的紧缩措施，将14天公众假期砍去四天。

Two religious festivals and two other public holidays will be suspended for five years from 2013.

The decision over which Catholic festivals to cut was negotiated with the Vatican.

Portugal has already cut public sector² wages and raised taxes to reduce its budget deficit³ and deal with its economic crisis.

The country agreed a 78bn euro bailout deal with the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary⁴ Fund last year and recently passed the latest review of its spending cuts.

It is hoped the suspension of the public holidays will improve competitiveness and boost economic activity.

The four days affected⁵ are All Saints Day on 1 November; Corpus Christi, which falls 60 days after Easter; 5 October, which commemorates⁶ the formation of the Portuguese⁷ Republic in 1910; and 1 December, which marks Portuguese independence from Spanish rule in 1640.