The European village where children (5) smoke cigarettes they get from their parents

Fernando (6) smokes a cigarette in the village of Vale de Salgueiro, in northern Portugal. Photo: AP

Helena Alves

The Epiphany celebrations in the Portuguese village of Vale de Salgueiro feature a tradition that each year causes an outcry among outsiders: parents encourage children as young as five to smoke cigarettes.

Locals say the practice has been passed down for centuries as part of a celebration of life tied to the Christian Epiphany and the winter solstice - but nobody is sure what it symbolises, or exactly why parents buy the packets of cigarettes for their children and encourage them to take part.