What is the symbol for christmas in brazil

The colourful and flambuoyant Brazil is home to people of different cultures and traditions; it is like a melting pot of cultures. Its diversity is reflected in the festivals that add vigor and color to the face of the celebrations. Majority of the people of Brazil are Christians which only makes Christmas a very important festival there. As a former Portuguese colony, Brazil has retained some of the customs of its rich heritage. The old Brazilian legend is based on the belief that animals knew about the birth of Christ and could talk among themselves. Prior to Christmas day and the celebrations, families gather together and start preparing for the occasion. Most of the dishes prepared in Brazil are influenced by the culinary traditions of Europe, although some dishes have an essence of Africa as well as South America incorporated in them. Read on to know more about Brazilian Christmas.

Christmas Celebrations In Brazil

During Christmas, people have lots of fruits and nuts and the dishes mainly comprise of turkey, rice and vegetables. Codfish and Christmas turkey with white rice acts as the main course. People usually enjoy beer and natural juices while spending time with their families.
For a sweet treat, people in Brazil eat rabanadas which is a French toast in cinnamon and sugar. Also chocolate cakes, panettones (sweet bread) and fruits salads are consumed with sheer delight.
While serving food, the table is remarkably decorated with fruits to make it look colorful. Pineapples, watermelons and bananas are used liberally.
Since it’s hard to find pine trees in Brazil, Brazilians set up Christmas trees with the assistance of electric lighting. Brazil still lays claim to the world record of having the biggest Christmas tree in the world.
All members of the family gather around the tree and play games, sing songs and have a great time together. When the clock strikes twelve, all the lights except for the one on the Christmas tree are switched off. With the start of the fireworks, Papa Noel (Father Noel) who brings gifts in Brazil appears before the children with a handful of gifts and enquires whether they have behaved themselves throughout the year.
The feast is initially laid out to the children so that they can go to sleep and wait for Papa Noel to fill their shoes with gifts and chocolates. In some places, families give gifts to other families and it gets late before everyone returns back from the celebrations.
On the eve of Christmas, depending on individual religious interests, people attend the midnight mass, also called “Missa Do Galo”.
Though this time of the year is very hot for the country, the people of Brazil do not miss out on the fun part of playing with snow. They use little white cotton wool to decorate pine trees to make up for the lack of real snow. People return home to sumptuous feasts and some even go to the beach to spend time with family and friends.
The next day being December 25th, or Christmas Day, Brazilians usually wake up late and attend mass.
Folk dance and songs are quite common in Brazil. The celebrations can go on till January 6th which is regarded as the “Three Kings Day”. It is named so because it is believed that, on this day, the three wise men visited Jesus to bring him gifts.

Such is the spirit of Brazil that everything about it reeks of colour and fun. Even Christmas in Brazil is as colourful as any carnival can be. However, this doresnt undermine the religious sentiments of the Brazilians; for they know how to party and they know how to pray!

Brazil is the largest country in South America in terms of a territory and population. Traditionally, most Brazilians were adherents of Roman Catholic Church, but in 20th century, the number of Protestants grew significantly in the country. Christmas is one of the main events for all Christians and Brazil is not an exception. Brazilian Christmas is a string of festive days or "Dia de festas" on Portuguese language, which is an official language of Brazil. It is interesting, how they say merry Christmas in Brazil? Well, it sounds like “Feliz Natal!”

Santa Claus In Brazil

As for Brazilian version of Santa Claus, he is called Papai Noel (Father Noel) or sometimes Bom Velhinho (Good Old Man). Children usually leave a sock near a window and when Papai Noel finds this sock, he will put a gift into it. Many Brazilians are engaged in popular Christmas game called “Secret Santa” or “Secret friend” (Amigo Secreto). During this game, people give small gifts to each other, using fictive names. On Christmas day, they reveal their real names and, consequently, the identity of "amigo secreto".

Beachgoers building a giant sand Santa

Christmas Traditions In Brazil

Brazilian Christmas traditions mainly come from Portugal, as Portugal was the colonial ruler of Brazil for centuries. However, there are some traditions and customs unique for Brazilian Christmas festivities. The Presepio is a Brazilian tradition to create "nativity scenes". The word “presepio” origins from “presepium”, and means the bed of straw on which Jesus slept in the city of Bethlehem. These scenes are set up in the homes and churches across the country. Presepios became popular during 17th century, and since that time they constitute an integral part of Brazilian Christmas. These scenes are performed starting from the beginning of December and continued until the New Year’s Eve.

Christmas folk plays called "Los Pastores" or The Shepherds are also popular. Similar plays are set up in Mexico too. In Brazilian versions, female shepherds are pictured instead of male shepherds, who come to visit newborn Christ. There is also a Gipsy woman in these plays, who tries to steal the baby Jesus.

Because Christmas is a Christian festival after all, one of the important traditions of devout Catholics is to attend Midnight Masses or Missa do Galo. "Galo" is a rooster on Portuguese language. The Mass obtained such name because the rooster announces the approach of coming day of Christmas. Missa do Galo ends at 1:00 AM, and after it, big fireworks are often displayed in large cities and Christmas Trees are shaped by Laser rays.

Although, is some places, tradition of midnight Mass is abandoned, due to the high crime rates, and Masses are held in the afternoon or early evening of December 24. After these Masses, families get together for a special supper called “Ceia” at midnight. On Christmas morning, many people head stratight to the beaches, where they enjoy a relaxation during a day of celebration.

Yet another Christmas tradition in Brazil, as in many other countries, is caroling. Various Christmas carols are sung during Christmas days, in churches and sometimes in homes. There are also Christmas songs (called pastorils and other), which are sung to commemorate the birth of Christ. One of the most popular Brazilian songs is "Noite Feliz", which means "Silent Night" on Portuguese language.

Christmas Dinner In Brazil

At the beginning of the 20th century, millions of immigrants came from Europe and other parts of the world and settled in Brazil. As a consequence of this, Christmas festivals were influenced by the different traditions that immigrants brought with them. It is relevant also for Christmas food traditions in Brazil. Popular Christmas dishes in this country include pork, turkey, salads, and fresh and dried fruits. Turkey and pork are served roasted. Meat is accompanied with rice cooked with raisins. Just rice with chicken is the meal that poor Brazilians eat for Christmas dinner. Tropical and ice cream are favored Christmas desserts in many parts of the country.

Dinner ready for Brazilian Christmas

Regional differences in relation to the Christmas food traditions are notable. For example, in southern states, customs brought from European countries such as Italy, Germany and Spain are widespread. Italian Panettone (a type of sweet bread) is popular in southern states like Sao-Paulo, Rio-de-Janeiro and others. In some regions, the Christmas dinner starts on Christmas Eve around 9 pm, while at other parts of the country, it is eaten at midnight, after the early Mass, when people return to homes.

Celebrations And Decorations

Christmas decorations in Brazil include setting up Christmas trees in residential homes and decorating them with items such as lights, plastic balls and glass balls. A climax of Christmas celebrations in Brazil is the picturing of giant Christmas "trees" by Laser rays. These "electric Christmas trees" can be seen on the background of night skies in largest cities such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and others, during the Christmas celebration.

Beautiful view of Brazilian Christmas tree at night

Unlike famous Brazilian carnival, which is well known in the world for its exotic and picturesque costumes, there are no special Christmas costumes or clothes typical for Christmas festival in Brazil. Christmas coincides with summer season in this country, due to the fact that Brazil is located in Southern Hemisphere. Summer in Brazil is very hot and wonderful Brazilian beaches, for example famous Brazilian beach Copacabana in Rio-de-Janeiro are the best places for relaxation and amusement of people. Of course, it is somehow strange for inhabitants of Northern regions of the world to see bright sun and relaxing people on the beaches during the Christmas holidays, but nevertheless, this celebration is loved by Brazilians and has an important place in the list of nationwide festivals.

Did you like learning about Christmas traditions in Brazil? Go ahead and learn about Christmas customs in more countries in our Christmas World Wide page!

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