Ano novo, vida nova.

Hello!

Here I am, again! I know it’s a little late to talk about Brazilian traditions related to the New Year’s celebrations, but I couldn’t prepare this writing before. How did I spend New Year’s Eve? With my family. We had a dinner, watched the fireworks, listened to music, had a good time. It was quite a sweet and peaceful celebration, even if I was in a party mood, dancing all around the house *lol*. I don’t believe that much in anything, but there’s something special about the New Year’s Eve. It has a spiritual meaning to my family and myself. We thank God (we believe in God, but are not religious) for everything we lived in the past year, even the bad, sad or hard moments. Every experience we live makes us stronger, smarter, wiser. We can (and do) learn from our mistakes. The New Year’s Eve celebrations in Brazil are not family celebrations like Christmas. I mean, many people join their families, but many people travel with friends, especially to the beach. I was in countryside. Every time we have a holiday, in São Paulo, it seems that everybody leaves the city. Of course, this is not true. There are more than 10 million people living here, can you imagine 10 million people travelling to the coast? But the city gets empty, a kind of “far west scenery”. A lot of people travel to the coast. There are huge traffic jams on the roads (some people spend the New Year’s Eve on the road! ) and the beaches get crowded. The seaside towns have no structure to hold so many people. I prefer to avoid the chaos! …

Let’s talk about some traditions, but I must say that I live in São Paulo and it makes a lot of difference. Some foreign friends ask me to “talk about Brazil”. I just smile. This is impossible! I can’t talk about what happens in the whole country! Brazil is a HUGE and multi-faceted country! I promise to teach you some Geography in the future , but take a look at a map of Brazil. The country has 26 states and 1 federal district. Brasília, the capital of the country (no, it’s not Rio de Janeiro) is located in the federal district. The Brazilian states are divided in 5 regions (North, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and South), very different from each other. There are similarities between the states belonging to a same region, but the Brazilian states are pretty independent. Are you still awake? *lol* Sooo, São Paulo, for instance, is more than a state. It’s a world. Completely different from Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Minas Gerais, etc. Of course, there are traditions common to all of us and I’ll do my best to show you the most embracing vision of Brazil I can. BUT, São Paulo is on the top of my list. It’s my place. I’m completely a girl from São Paulo. Little by little, you will see that Brazil is unique exactly because nobody can talk about it in a few words!

Ok … so … let’s talk about some traditions related to the New Year’s celebrations, from São Paulo *lol*:

- Corrida de São Silvestre (São Silvestre Race): It’s the most famous, traditional and important athletic event of Brazil. It happens in São Paulo, every December 31 (São Silvestre’s day. He was a Catholic pope.). The route is 15 km long, less than half of a marathon, but as hard as one, due to the weather (the Brazilian Summer has quite high temperatures) and the rugged relief of São Paulo. The route passes by the main tour spots of the city and traditionally, it starts and ends at Avenida Paulista, maybe the main tour spot of São Paulo. There are three types of race: for men only, for women only and for handicap people. The first São Silvestre Race happened on December 31, 1925. The responsible for the event was the journalist Cásper Líbero and his foundation is responsible for the race until today. In the beginning, only men could participate in the race. The first race for women happened in 1975! Nowadays, profissional athletes and people in general participate in the race. Every year, people in costume (maybe I should say “crazy outfits”) join the competitors just to add some fun to the event. One of my goals is to participate in the São Silvestre and finish the route. Believe me, it’s not easy! It’s hard to walk the whole route, let alone run! The athletes from Kenya (Africa) are the great winners of all time! They’re great, it’s almost like “nobody can beat them”! This time, it wasn’t different: a boy (Edwin Kipsang) and a girl (Maurine Kipchumba) won the races. Here’s a pic from the men reunited in the beginning of the race, at Avenida Paulista:

Link of the pic:

http://imguol.com/2012/12/31/multidao-se-aglomera-no-comeco-da-sao-silvestre-2012-1356953153163_956x500.jpg

Here’s a link for an album made by a Brazilian internet portal called Universo Online (UOL). You can see several pics of the race and the men in crazy outfits:

http://esporte.uol.com.br/album/atletismo/2012/12/31/veja-imagens-da-sao-silvestre-2012.htm#fotoNav=1

- Réveillon na Paulista: That’s the way we call the New Year’s Eve, in Brazil: Réveillon. It’s a French word. Every December 31 at night happens a big party at Avenida Paulista, to celebrate the New Year. Thousands (sometimes millions) of people go there to watch the fireworks (firework shows are very traditional in Brazil, on New Year’s Eve! They happen also in Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro!) and shows performed by pop artists. All for free! I was there on 1997, with a group of friends. I was a teen and confess that I didn’t enjoy the experience . I’m used to private celebrations and usually spend New Year’s Eve with my family and/or friends, not with a thousand unknown people. It was strange. I couldn’t watch the shows and felt uncomfortable. The fireworks were cool, but … I still prefer private parties! For the ones who love huge crowds and a lot of noise, the Revéillon na Paulista is a perfect experience! Here’s a pic:

Link of the pic:

http://www.noteaqui.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Reveillon-na-Paulista-400x361.jpg

** GENERAL TRADITIONS **

I believe that we all have some things in common in Brazil. Traditions related to food and rituals, for example. We usually have a dinner on New Year’s Eve (I’m talking about private celebrations, of course), but it doesn’t have tons of food, like the Christmas Eve one. People eat less (and drink more) on New Year’s Eve. The most of Brazilians don’t eat chicken or some type of poultry, because they believe it brings bad luck. So, many people eat fish, especially codfish. Salted codfish. It’s easy to recognize it at the supermarket: it’s something that smells like the high heavens! Just follow the smell! *lol* The salted codfish is a tradition from Portugal. Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the 16th. to the 19th. century (that’s why we speak Portuguese, by the way. No, we don’t speak Spanish!). Nobody eats the salted codfish “in natura” (at least, normal people don’t do it …). People cover it with water, to take off the salt and smooth the fish, then roast it with olive oil, potatoes, tomatoes, onions and olives. The salted codfish is very expensive in Brazil and it’s also eaten on Easter. Some people eat pork (on New Year’s Eve), especially the “pernil” (leg). I am a vegetarian, so, it’s a little hard to me to type all these informations … Me and my brother prepared soy beef alla parmiggiana, coarse rice with veggies, “farofa” and an onion pie (it’s good, believe me! And you don’t need to worry about your breath! …). But Brazilian food has A LOT of meet! You need metaphysical explanations to justify your vegetarian choices …

As I told you before, people don’t eat that much, but drink a lot! And the sparkling wine is very popular, here. I believe I don’t need to give explanations about the sparkling wine, because people from all over the (western) world drink it, on special occasions! The champagne is a special (and expensive), type of sparkling wine. The most of us, mortals, don’t drink champagne. But here in Brazil, we have a drink called “sidra”. It’s traditionally from Spain and made with apples. Well, the “sidra” is a thousand times cheaper than the imported sparkling wines, so, it’s an extremelly popular drink, in Brazil! The most popular one, is made in Brazil:

Some evil people say that sidra is “champagne de pobre” (champagne for poor people) *lol*. I have nothing against sidra, it’s a good drink! But my family don’t drink sidra on New Year’s Eve … *lol*

People also eat lentils, they believe it brings prosperity.

Now, our famous rituals for good luck, called SIMPATIAS. Maybe, Brazilians are very superstitious, because we have rituals for everything! I really mean that. New Year’s Eve is the perfect occasion for the “simpatias”, because people want to be happy, right?! People want to fix the debts, to get a job, to find a soulmate and so on. Here in Brazil, the most of people dress white, from head to toes. It’s a color related to peace. So, if you see some pictures of the New Year’s celebrations in Brazil, that bunch of people dressed in white has an explanation! I don’t dress white for years, don’t know why … But people like to wear new clothes on New Year’s Eve and I do it, too. We have “simpatias” related to the panties (for women, of course). New colorful panties can bring you something special! It depends on the color you choose. But the panties must be NEW. You’ll use it for the first time, on New Year’s Eve! Use:

Red: for passion.

Pink: for love.

Green: for balance (or luck).

White: for peace.

Yellow: for money.

Blue: for harmony at home.

Try these ones, too:

- Put a bay leef or pomegranate seeds inside of your wallet, if you need some money.

- Eat 12 green grapes and make a wish for each one.

- If you’re at the beach, jump 12 waves and make a wish for each one. I hope you don’t mind to get wet and ruin your outfit …

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So, that’s all for today? … I’m tired! I prepare my writings by myself, it’s a creative work! I’m really tired! That’s all for now, folks! If you have any question or want to tell me how to the things work in the place you live in, feel free to make some comments! Stay tuned. Other posts will come!

All the best!

Luna