Hello everyone!
I know this episode is arriving a little late for December, but due to the sheer distance between the UK and Brazil, it was simply more practical to spend the Christmas period in South America.
During my time in Brazil, I have been volunteering for a Youtube channel that produces videos to help people learn Portuguese, with my job being translating the subtitles from Portuguese to English. The produces of the channel invited me to spend the Christmas week in the countryside of São Paulo state.
The experience was very interesting, outwardly Brazilians very much have a party mentality when it comes to Christmas festivities, but on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for just a normal get-together. That said, this doesn’t mean that they don’t put 110% into proceedings. The family meets up on the night of Christmas Eve, to welcome in Christmas Day together. Nibbles are distributed to stave away hunger, though eat enough and they themselves could be mistaken for the main meal. At the strike of midnight, everyone embraces and begins to wish Feliz Natal (Merry Christmas). Then the main food is brought out: a whole host of various meats and roasts – a real banquet. There is real care and love when Brazilians cook and this is obvious in the burst of flavours that you can taste when you eat their food. As mentioned above, they were playing regular dance music and classic Brazilian hits which
On Christmas Day, the family meets again for an informal lunch (and to tuck into more of the food that wasn’t eaten the night before). It’s less so the fun and games of the UK, and more quality family time, enjoying each others’ company.
I hope I have been able to give a taste of what Christmas is like in Brazil.
Expect more to follow on my blog soon!
Até mais!