Brazilian tradition of celebrating the new year. Scenario of the Festival of Friendship of Peoples. New Year in Brazil. Preparing for the New Year

This is the only state on this continent where the Portuguese language is officially adopted. This is due to the fact that for a long time the country was a colony of Portugal. The latter played a big role in the development of the culture of this amazing country.

New Year's Eve Celebration in Brazil

Historical monuments and preserved traditions, which have no analogues in the world, attract the attention of tourists from many European countries. The article tells about how the New Year is celebrated in Brazil. The traditions of the celebration will also be considered.

One of the most popular holidays for Brazilians is the New Year. In European countries, this is a winter holiday. In Brazil, this celebration is considered summer. Since at this time the weather is hot in the country, which is an unusual phenomenon for guests from Europe.

Where does it all begin?

New Year in Brazil is traditionally celebrated from the first days of December. Then the streets of cities and towns are decorated with multi-colored garlands, dance floors are erected, Christmas trees are set up in the central squares. In many countries, the New Year is considered a family holiday, where family members gather around the table.

What happens at midnight?

How is the New Year celebrated in Brazil? Most often this happens in a cafe, restaurant, in the circle of a noisy company, or just Brazilians spend New Year's Eve on one of the city's beaches.

The indigenous people of this state have an interesting custom: at the time of the New Year's Eve, exactly at midnight, eat twelve grapes and at the same time make a wish that must come true. Brazilians do not have the traditional New Year's chiming clock. The last seconds of the celebration are loudly counted out loud, and the first seconds of the New Year are marked by colorful fireworks.

Main holiday

After the fireworks, the main celebration begins, which is dancing and performing folk songs to the sound of drums. The New Year in Brazil passes without the fabulous Santa Claus and Snow Maiden familiar to Europeans. The fact is that Christmas (December 24) is considered the main celebration. Therefore, gifts are presented on Christmas days. The specificity of the celebration of the New Year lies in the fact that this country has historically combined African, European and Indian customs and rituals.

New Year in Brazil is called Reveillon (translated from Portuguese - fraternization). Only on this festive night, the indigenous people of more than 205 million people call each other brother or sister, forgive all insults and promise to be friendly. It so happened historically that the Catholic religion and African ritual rites have become commonplace in the life of Brazilians.

On the eve of the New Year, everyone tries to appease their saint Oryx and the goddess Iemanzha (the mother goddess, the patroness of women, is the personification of the Ogun River). A legend that has come down to our time says that in the past, slaves were brought to Brazil from the African continent. They were forced to accept the Catholic faith and attend church services. But many did not want to give up their faith - Candomblé (African religion). It is based on the worship of the Orisha spirits. Therefore, in this religion, it is customary to believe that every person is watched by a saint, who is called Oryx.

A legend that has been passed down from generation to generation says that Iemanja, the queen of the seas, loves dancing, flowers and fun. On New Year's Eve, according to tradition, every Brazilian who wants his wish to come true sets a candle and flowers on a stand, then sends it adrift into the sea.

Believers believe that if the candle burns for a long time, then the desire may come true. In the case of the return of the raft to the shore, the desire must be repeated, but only the next year. Girls throw a wreath of white flowers into the water and make a wish for a successful marriage. This centuries-old tradition is accompanied by songs and ritual dances that are passed on to new generations.

modern celebration

The modern celebration of the New Year in Brazil takes place with magnificent fireworks that are launched by pyrotechnics. They are on specially designed rafts towed out to sea. After the fireworks, discos and concerts with the participation of world pop stars begin to work on the beach areas. In the shallow reservoir of Rodrigo de Freitas (a bay connected by a canal to the Atlantic Ocean), every year on the eve of the New Year holidays, an eighty-meter floating Christmas tree is installed on a powerful platform. It is considered the highest in the world.

Traditions

European tourists are also interested in the traditions of celebrations that can only be found in this country. For example, throwing unnecessary papers from government offices right out of the windows onto the street. Thus, employees say goodbye to the passing old working year. And these days the streets turn white without snow cover.

And in the largest city, Rio de Janeiro, a cannon shot rumbles at midnight. There is a popular belief: if a Brazilian kisses a loved one at this moment, then the new year will be successful for him. Those wishing to celebrate the celebration on the beaches come in white attire, as it is believed that this color brings good luck. During the first volley of New Year's fireworks, in order for the year to be successful, you need to jump seven times and at the same time wish all the best to your neighbor standing next to you.

National dishes

Every country in the world has its own national dishes. In this country, on New Year's Eve, the indigenous people do not eat poultry dishes. It is believed that there were a lot of birds before. But man, using bird meat for food, reduced their number on Earth. Therefore, this type of dish means a return to the past without hope for the future.

New Year's menu

Tourists arriving to celebrate the New Year in Brazil can, in any restaurant or cafe, observing traditional hospitality, offer a New Year's menu: feijoada, Brazilian coffee and Brazilian desserts. Feijoada, which was invented by African slaves about 300 years ago, is an amazing-tasting dish made from black beans and various types of meat with the addition of certain spices.

Then the world-famous coffee - kofetsino (in European - espresso) is served. It is prepared according to a special recipe, although the Brazilians themselves consider cocoa to be their favorite drink. Coffee is served with the most popular dessert in this country. By the way, it can only be found in Brazil. It's called a brigadeiro. This dessert is made with condensed milk.

How is New Year celebrated in Brazil? Friendly and cheerful Brazilians organize this holiday on a grand scale. It gradually turns into the famous February carnival in compliance with the centuries-old traditions of the ancestors. Therefore, street garlands and New Year decorations on houses are not removed until the four-day dance and music festival.

A small conclusion

Tourists of this sunny country have the opportunity to enjoy the unique and amazing traditions of celebrating the New Year in Brazil. This holiday is unusual in its beauty and color, and the days spent among the hospitable Brazilians leave the best memories for a long time.

New Year in Brazil is celebrated in the summer, at this time the country is in the midst of the sea and beach holiday season. They start preparing for the New Year here in November, decorating the streets with lanterns, garlands, decorating Christmas trees. New Year and Christmas in many countries are considered family holidays, but in Brazil, on the contrary, everyone tries to break away from the family, celebrate the holiday in noisy companies. In addition to the fact that the streets of cities become bright and colorful, they turn white, but not because of the snow, which does not happen here. On New Year's Eve, office workers throw papers out of windows, symbolizing the end of the old working year.

Modern traditions

New Year in Brazil, whose traditions are unique, is considered a public holiday, they prefer to celebrate it in the company of friends. In Brazil, there are no chimes that count down the minutes until the start of the New Year, so Brazilians count the seconds out loud. The New Year begins with a huge number of luxurious, bright, unforgettable fireworks. The whole sky is lit up with splashes of lights, creating a special atmosphere. Brazilians have a belief - having eaten 12 grapes in the last seconds of the outgoing year and made a wish, the chances of its fulfillment are considered to be maximum.

If you are interested in how the New Year is celebrated in Brazil, you should know that it is met in white clothes, this is due to the intense heat. All the decorations that are present on the street and indoors are most often preserved until February, because at this time the carnival is held, decorations just come in handy. Not a single celebration is complete without pyrotechnics, and a cannon shot proclaims the beginning of the New Year.

Fireworks are launched from rafts, a New Year tree 82 meters high floats in the sea. This is the highest floating Christmas tree, it is bright, huge and unique. The Christmas tree is usually installed on a raft near the sculpture of the Savior, which is a symbol of Brazil. Also, an airship flies over the city, which proclaims holiday greetings, and cascades of bright lights descend from the roofs of houses. On the squares of the city, music sounds until the morning, people dance and congratulate each other.

Interweaving of different cultures

The New Year in Brazil is very unusual, a variety of cultures are connected here - European, African, Indian. Various rituals and traditions made the holiday extraordinary. Even the name, which is considered official for the new year "Confraternização", is translated as fraternization. Brazilians on this day are ready to forget all grievances, call any neighbor a friend.

As in any Catholic country, Santa Claus and gifts are important only at Christmas, Santa Claus is called "Papai Noel" here. Christmas for the inhabitants of the country is a more significant holiday than our beloved New Year. Children look forward to Christmas, but it is not customary to exchange gifts for the New Year.

To understand how the New Year is celebrated in Brazil, it is important to be imbued with unusual African traditions, they are closely connected with the culture of the entire Brazilian people. Most of all, African traditions are noticeable on the coast, in Rio de Janeiro.

New Year's rituals

According to traditions, the New Year for Brazilians is a great opportunity to mitigate all the consequences of the wrath of evil spirits. To appease the spirit of the mistress of the seas "Iemanzhe", you need to make a sacrifice to her. This lady is identified with the Virgin Mary and every Brazilian must perform this ritual. The “victim” most often is a candle and flowers. The ritual itself is very beautiful and spectacular. Brazilians bring candles and white flowers to the coast and put them on a wooden stand. The candle is lit, a wish is made, and it sets sail on the seas. The longer the candle floats and does not die out, the more likely it is that the wish will come true. Some girls throw a wreath of white flowers, also making a wish, if it is washed back to the shore, there are few chances for the wish to come true and it is better to repeat the ritual next year.

The celebration of the New Year in Brazil involves kindling bonfires along the coast, and gifts are sent on rafts directly into the sea. Rice, sweets, fruits are often sent to the sea on rafts, all this in order to appease the evil goddess and receive a favorable attitude from her next year. There are legends that the goddess Iemanzhu is a beauty with long hair the color of a sea surface. She loves dancing and fun very much, she takes care of her beauty, so fragrant soap and mirrors are often poisoned as alms. Be sure any offering is accompanied by incendiary dances, special prayers, passed down from generation to generation.

Another deity that is remembered on New Year's Day is Oryx. It is known that the Portuguese brought the Africans, the Africans were forced, but they tried to preserve their traditions, they retained their candomblé faith, this faith implies that each person is followed by a personal god Oryx.

Nowhere else will you see such an unusual celebration new year like in brazil. The fact is that African exotic rituals are closely intertwined with modern European traditions.

And since life in Brazil in all ages has been connected with the ocean, where else to celebrate the New Year, if not on the ocean. So, for many years in a row, every year the beaches on New Year's Eve are crowded with lovers of beach parties. Where else can you meet with a crowd of strangers, drink a glass of champagne, feel the atmosphere of unity and celebration?

On the ocean shore, you can watch the grandiose New Year's fireworks, which has become a tradition, and then dance until the morning!

Yes, the ocean of dancing people is by no means so colorful and varied. As usual with us. Residents of Brazil for the New Year's party surround all the shops and buy white clothes. Now imagine a huge, about three million, crowd in white. The spectacle is mesmerizing!

The origin of the holiday

As already mentioned, the life of Brazilians is closely connected with the ocean. No wonder that the main deity is the lord of the water element. Or rather, the ruler. Since ancient times, the celebration of the New Year was a holiday of sacrifice and gratitude to the goddess of the sea Iemanzha. According to legend, this is a beautiful young woman with long hair, the color of which is similar to the color of the moonlit path on the surface of the ocean. They tried to appease the goddess with dances and songs that she loved. To some extent, these rituals were similar to theatrical performances, as they combined several types of art. The holiday was essentially pagan and it is quite natural that it was banned in the Middle Ages. But the popularity of the holiday took its toll. This pagan act was performed from year to year, and openly. The priests simply did not dare to forbid his people, otherwise the entire population of the country would have to be executed.

Carefree and cheerful, they love the sun, the beach and the holidays. But the hot and humid climate makes you wait for the time when the heat subsides and it will be possible to get out from under the air conditioner. So the Brazilians are used to organizing festivities at night, which attracts numerous tourists. Since you want to escape from the urban jungle, the beaches become the epicenter of night parties.

Perhaps the most colorful stage of the holiday are fireworks. These are not just multi-colored flashes, but whole well-thought-out and well-organized performances. New Year's fireworks amaze with their ornateness, duration and luxury. So, for example, the magnificent fireworks in Rio de Janeiro in 2008 in honor of the New Year lasted as much as 16 minutes. Famous DJs come to the beaches of Brazil every year to play at one of the most massive parties in the world.

in a hot country there are no Christmas trees, snowmen and sledges traditional for us. They just have nowhere to go. But Brazilians are in no hurry to give up decorating the environment. Long before the actual celebration, they decorate the streets with a variety of colorful garlands. These are paper, fabric, and decorations from all kinds of plants. Decorate the streets with an abundance of luminous electric garlands. Live Christmas trees are successfully replaced with artificial trees and decorated with traditional toys.
Preparing for the celebration in Brazil begins in October, and all the decorations remain in place until January. However, in terms of time, Christmas trees for us and Brazilians cost about the same.

What? Where? When?

What we already know is New Year's Eve. When they also found out - in January. There is one more important question - where.

The most popular cities for celebrating the New Year in Brazil have been and remain Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Fortaleza, Salvador and other major cities.

One of the most numerous parties in the world was the New Year's Eve on the coast of the state of Sao Paulo. It gathered more than three (!) million Brazilians and guests of the country. But even such a large city could not accommodate everyone. Be prepared for the fact that you will not be able to find a single free place in hotels or hostels long before the New Year celebration.

Fewer people gather at U Beach, which is located on the coast of Espirito Santo. For such a large number of people, it is impossible even with all the desire to create the same show program and hold events at the same time. Thus, over eighty show programs were selected for vacationers!

The coast near the city of Fortaleza made friends with more than a quarter of a million people. In order for everyone to be able to see the enchanting shows, a special observation deck of almost half a million square meters and a height of over ten meters was built for the audience.

If you want to see almost authentic New Year's celebrations, that is, the rite of sacrifice to the goddess Iemanja, then welcome to the coast of the state of Santa Catarina. But do not rush to direct your car to major cities. Such a plan of theatrical action takes place in small towns. If you decide to ride around small towns, then replace the traditional New Year's white clothes with blue vestments, the shade can be any.

If you decide to fulfill the dream of the great strategist and come to the holiday in Rio de Janeiro, then get ready to enjoy the extraordinary flavor. As already mentioned, the culture of Brazil is an explosive mixture of Indian, African and European rituals and customs. What is not mixed in the celebration. So, in Rio de Janeiro, African notes and rhythms sound the most.

No matter how surprising it may sound, but in this country Christianity managed to make friends with paganism. Any celebration, first of all, is connected with the desire to appease the ancient gods and protect yourself from the wrath of otherworldly forces.

The Virgin Mary for the Brazilians is the embodiment of the ancient mistress of the seas - Imange. It's like Marena and Ivan Kupala for the Slavs.
celebration New Year in Brazil you will remember forever. But keep in mind that you need to take care of everything in advance. Yes, and grab return tickets, because the first of January is a day off throughout the country.

Celebration of the New Year in Brazil, video:

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A long time ago I promised to write this post. In short, somehow I promise a lot and write little. Meanwhile, the New Year in Brazil is a very peculiar holiday, a family holiday, with deeply established traditions. New Year and the truth, with rare exceptions, the Brazilians celebrate with their families.

Most Brazilians tend to celebrate the New Year by the ocean. It is quite logical that problems with air tickets on the eve of the holiday follow from this. Do not try to solve this problem by driving a car. On all holidays, traffic jams form on the roads. I'm not kidding, natural corks. We had such an experience of standing for 4 hours in a traffic jam on the highway - something else a pleasure.

As I said, Brazilians celebrate the New Year with their families, and this is precisely before the chimes, and then young people usually disperse to parties and clubs.

Another, to put it mildly, noticeable feature - Brazilians celebrate the New Year in white. All. You understood correctly - all the people of Brazil wear white on New Year's Eve. Therefore, wherever you are, everyone around will be in white. It's for happiness. It’s even funny, because at first we didn’t believe when we were warned about this, but at the last moment we realized that this was not an exaggeration, but very true. The sensations are unusual, as far as you can tell.

We were just infinitely lucky this New Year - we got to the holiday in a family - with a capital letter Family. Probably 50 people. There are grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts, cousins, cousins, yes, everything! This is very impressive! Everyone gets together and celebrates the New Year. They set the table, and in this family there are many tables with snacks and a buffet table for general convenience.

A few minutes before the chimes, everyone flocks to the ocean. You need to prepare a gift in advance, and now, attention to the question - a gift to whom do you think? Remember, I told you that So we will present a gift to the mistress of the sea - Imanzha - a legacy from African beliefs. The gift must be white or blue. Here already, as your fantasy tells you: it can be flowers, and candles, and jewelry, and combs, anything. Surprisingly, this is reality, people are really dragging all this junk to give to the sea goddess! A crowd of people can be seen on the beach on New Year's Eve.

With the presentation of a gift, too, there is a special ritual. It is necessary not only to throw it into the ocean, but to throw it on the seventh wave after 12 hours. As soon as it hits twelve, we immediately begin to count the waves and throw the gift far into the ocean exactly on the seventh wave and immediately make a wish. We throw far, far away so that the gift does not wash ashore in waves - otherwise the wish will not come true.

Well, the New Year was celebrated, the sea mistress was respected - you can celebrate. Everyone starts drinking champagne, hugging and kissing. All with all - with acquaintances and not familiar. It doesn't matter. They hug, kiss and congratulate "Feliz Ano Novo!". That's how funny they are, these Brazilians.

1. Morning of the new year

6. Poorly thrown, damn it! Look how much junk the sea lady spat out

7. I even suspect that these are special New Year's gift lipsticks.

8. After the New Year's Eve, there was a lot of garbage on the shore in the morning.

12. Well, we blinded our Lady of the Sea and part-time Pyasochnaya woman

15. I'm a late gas - Happy New Year, new happiness! Has the tree already been thrown out??

Many people ask how do Brazilians celebrate these most expensive holidays in all respects? I will try to introduce you to these summer holidays a little, because when it is winter in the northern hemisphere of the planet, it is hot summer in Brazil!

Christmas

On December 24, all Catholic Brazil celebrates Christmas. The holiday is eagerly awaited by adults and children. The local Santa Claus, Papai Noel, brings gifts to everyone at Christmas. Brazilian Frost can even be found as a public transport driver.

Photo 4617. Popeye Noel as City Bus Driver

Christmas trees are decorated in shopping centers and every day you can meet local Santa Clauses waiting for children and adults for a memorable photo. Interestingly, Brazil even has a special school for Santa Clauses. Most of them are really old people with a real gray beard.

Photo 4622. Popeye Noel at the mall

The radically extreme Brazilian Santa Claus occasionally appears on the Sugar Loaf, descending the cable car.

Photo 4621. Popeye Noel descends from the Sugar Loaf on the cable car

Brazilians put Christmas dishes on the festive table. Here are 9 typical products and dishes of the Brazilian Christmas table (from left to right, from top to bottom): oven-baked turkey (peru assado, chester), sweet cinnamon croutons (rabanada), Easter cake (panettone), gingerbread cookies (biscoitos de gengibre), nuts and chestnuts (nozes e castanhas), palmito salad (salpicão), cod potato balls (bolinho de bacalhau), fruits (frutas), roast suckling pig (leitão assado).

Photo 4618. Christmas food in Brazil

Right in the middle of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, in the Lagoa area in Rio de Janeiro, a floating Christmas tree 85 meters high is being installed by December 24 - this is the height of about a 28-story building.

Photo 4615. The largest floating Christmas tree in the world

For almost 20 years, this miracle of technology has been pleasing residents and guests of Rio. This tree consists of 3.1 million lamps and 120 kilometers of luminous tubes, is installed on 11 buoys and weighs about 542 tons. It is the largest floating Christmas tree in the world, listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Photo 4616. Night light show at Christmas

In Brazil, there is such a tradition: every year before Christmas, children bring to the post office their letters addressed to Papay Noel (Santa Claus from Brazil), with their cherished desires. And ordinary people, like you and me, in turn, make a gesture of goodwill, go to the post office, take any letter, or several letters, open it, read the child’s wish, buy what the child asks for in her letter and bring it to mail this gift. And mail already in turn sends it to the address of the customer.

New Year

From December 31 to January 1, the city of carnivals, parades and enchanting performances is preparing for all its residents and tourists the most noisy and unforgettable holiday - New Year's Eve. Millions of hot Latin Americans who want to celebrate this holiday flock to Rio de Janeiro. Brazilians are very cheerful, sociable and cheerful people, and the most wonderful thing is that they know how to really have fun and celebrate holidays. Everything that happens in Brazil is simply amazing.

Photo 4611. Multi-million Copacabana

Meeting the New Year in Rio de Janeiro is a kind of ritual. The modern culture of Brazil is a symbiosis of European, African and Indian beliefs and cultural traditions. On New Year's Eve, Brazilians bring sacrificial gifts to the African goddess Imange, the mistress of the seas and the god Oryx. Burning candles, decorated with flowers, on wooden stands are sent to the sea and make wishes, while the longer the candle does not go out, the more likely it is to come true.

Photo 4613. New Year's fireworks

Popular places to celebrate the New Year are the endless beaches of Rio de Janeiro, where the incendiary New Year's carnival takes place. Traditional New Year's costumes in Brazil are simply white clothes, and cold champagne is a festive drink. If you want to go to celebrate a holiday on Copacabana beach, then take care of metro tickets in advance, because. other ground transport simply will not be able to break through a huge number of people.

Music begins to play in the evening, and famous and new young DJs turn on the audience with incendiary rhythms. After the hands of the clock count down the last seconds of the outgoing year, thousands of fireworks rush into the sky. An incendiary celebration begins on the beaches, which continues until the morning.