Yesterday, our family and friends celebrated Christmas with gifts, big dinners, quality time together, and, my personal favorite, a continuous marathon of “The Christmas Story” on TBS. While that was happening, we were on our way to the beach town of Natal, which means Christmas in Portuguese, and we’re looking forward to New Year’s on an Amazon adventure.
While enjoying the hottest Christmas we’ve ever experienced, we did miss our family and friends (especially our new niece’s first Christmas). We’re glad to see through Facebook, though, it looks like everyone had a great time.
Celebrating in Brazil
Christmas in Brazil is similar to the U.S. Decorations are put up, gifts are given, and children are warned to be good for Papai Noel (Santa Claus). At work, Secret Santa or amigo secreto is a huge celebration. The entire office participates, and a dinner is held to exchange the gifts where each participant gives a speech describing their secret friend. Everyone then tries to guess who the person is before he receives his gift.
Unlike the U.S., though, Christmas isn’t the biggest holiday for Brazil. We’ve been told Carnival is what it’s all about. Unfortunately, as Carnival is in February, we won’t be here to experience that. If the shows we’ve seen, however, that imitate Carnival are any indication, its going to be an amazing party. There are plenty of parades featuring samba schools and elaborate costumes. In the U.S., Mardi Gras in New Orleans is the closest comparison.
Other holidays in Brazil we have experienced include the country’s Independence Day, Our Lady of Aparecida and/or Children’s Day, Day of the Dead, Republic Day and Black Awareness Day. Many holidays center around the Catholic religion as it’s the largest for the country.
Independence Day in Brazil is celebrated September 7, and it commemorates the country declaring its independence from Portugal in 1822. We spent the holiday in Rio de Janeiro where we saw military members and equipment on their way to participate in a parade.
Our Lady of Aparecida, also known as Children’s Day, is a celebration of the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of Brazil, and children held October 12. We celebrated in Foz do Iguaçu by attending a festival full of kids activities.
November 2 is Day of the Dead or All Souls Day, a part of the Catholic tradition where families remember their past loved ones by visiting cemeteries and cleaning the graves. Unlike in the Mexican culture where the holiday is celebrated with parties, Day of the Dead in Brazil is a very somber day. We visited the city cemetery in Curitiba where we bought some flowers for old graves that didn’t look like anyone had been to for awhile. It was a great experience that I had wanted to participate in for a long time.
Republic Day is observed November 15 and commemorates the end of the Empire of Brazil and the proclamation of the Republic of Brazil in 1889.
Black Awareness Day is observed November 20 and is celebrated in honor of dark-skinned Brazilians and the end of slavery, which was abolished in 1888 by Princess Isabel. Similar to Black History Month in the U.S., this day recognizes the contributions that those of African descent have made to Brazilian society.
Other holidays in Brazil we were not here for include Tiradentes’ Day April 21 that celebrates the death of the national martyr who aimed to establish an independent Brazilian republic and Labour Day or May Day May 1 like our Labor Day in the U.S. observed each September.
No ghosts or goblins here
My favorite holiday is Halloween, and Chris’ is Christmas. Halloween isn’t actually celebrated here in Brazil as for a long time it was seen as evil by the church and kept out. Known as dia das bruxas here, it’s literal translation is “day of the witches.” Though many don’t dress up (costumes are popular in Brazil, though, for kids and costume parties) and there is no such thing as trick-or-treating, the holiday has gained in popularity here in recent years with the introduction of more expats. With the shunning of Halloween, ghost tours, one of our favorite travel activities, are also not widely available in Brazil.
What’s your favorite holiday?
-Monica
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