Christmas in Brazil is very meaningful. The Brazilian population is primarily Christian, and more are Catholic than not. The way we celebrate Christmas is not typically Brazilian in some ways. People trying to understand how we celebrate our Christmas Holidays may find it very strange because we only have snow in a very small area of Brazil. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which is down in the southern part of our country it snows - but not during Christmas Season - only in July!

© GIF Animation by Kitty Roach.

Even so, Brazilians sometimes represent falling snow with little pieces of cotton on pine trees. We also have Santa Claus, but over here he is called Papai Noel (Father Noel). It's common knowledge that he lives in Greenland, far from us. In addition, poor Santa usually comes in silk clothing because he would suffer so much from our summer heat in the heavy clothes worn in other countries. It is very warm here even in the winter.

Brazilians are a miscellany of a great variety of people from many different parts of the world. Being a former Portuguese colony, Brazil inherited some customs relating to Christmas. One of them is to build wonderful "Christmas Scenes". This practice is very common in  the North-Eastern part of Brazil (Bahia, Sergipe, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Maranhão, Ceará, Pernambuco, Piauí and Alagoas). It is traditionally referred to as a "Nativity Scene" in other parts of the world. In Brazil, we call it Presépio, which roots are from the Latin word "presepium" that means: the bed of straw in which Jesus first slept after birth.

A Franciscan friar named Gaspar De Santo Agostinho introduced the Presépio in the 17th Century, in the city of Olinda, State of Pernambuco. Nowadays Presépios are built in December and displayed in churches, houses, stores, shopping centers, malls, etc. In January, they are dismantled.

There is a very popular event, specially in the North-East of Brazil, called Pastoril. They are performed by the average teenage girls, that are divided in two groups: one being blue and the other one red. Most of the times, they perform live, right on the streets of the cities. Their intention is to tell us through their songs, movements and dialogs, how the "Nativity" happened. Nevertheless, the presentation of the Pastoril can be done indoors as well.

The audience that gathers around on the sidewalks, when the event is outdoors usually participates a lot, making their choices between the blue and the red groups. There is one special character, called Diana, who does not belong to neither groups, being a neutral presence. That is why her costume is half blue and half red. (See picture below.)

The most important part that I think should be mentioned is that these presentations have grown  and improved very much. They have become tourist attractions in many cities. Now, 99% of these groups receive donations and patronage of several industries, companies, and even from the City Halls of some cities. However, what has touched me the most in all this is that the performers are very poor people. they do it with their heart and soul. A good example of the true meaning of what Christmas should be all about is given by these poor people. Each cent that comes in goes straight to charity foundations, healthcare associations for the needing ones, and even for homes for the elderly. You see, these people have almost nothing, their homes are extremely simple. Some don't even have electricity, neither water. They walk miles to get buckets of water for their daily use. But the more you give the more you receive... Because of their hard work, they called the world's attention and now these localities and small towns which weren't even on the map, now have medical assistance, healthcare, maternities, schools and the latest census results demonstrated that the mortality of young children has decreased to almost zero!

Now that is what I call the Reason For The Season!

The Brazilians have also adopted from other cultures and melting into their own, many foods commonly associated with Christmas: turkey, colored rice, grapefruits, apples and other special dishes. Normally, we eat at midnight serving the children first because they must quickly get to sleep after all Papai Noel (Santa Claus) is going to bring them gifts early in the morning!! Local charitable institutions undertake great campaigns to gather donations from people who can afford to give, and are willing to do so. However, unhappily, far too many children in Brazil who pray for Santa's gifts will not receive any.

The adults exchange gifts (usually done between co-workers, colleagues, and children with their classmates) whom they had previously picked to be their "Surprise Friend" and Happy (Merry) Christmas hugs, wishing that the year, yet to come, will be a better one for all.

Now this is a funny one... In Brazil they have been singing their own version of "Jingle Bells" for many years. I have never discovered who actually created it, but it has been recorded several times by many artists. The adults of today, when they were kids, would just plain accept such things without any further explanation. Their version is very different from ours (English) to say the least...

Since there is no snow in Brazil, the tune just does not make any reference what so ever to a "sleigh-ride"... The second big difference is the title. Here in Brazil it is called "Sinos de Belém" ("Bells of Belém"). Belém is the same as Bethlehem.

The oddest of all things is to listen to the lyrics in Portuguese but sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells". Being an American Citizen living in Brazil for many years, I have to confess that this music really makes me giggle... So enjoy the Portuguese version of "Jingle Bells" and see if you can sing along:

or

 "Sinos de Belém"

Paz na Terra, pede o sino
Alegre a cantar,
Abençoe, Deus menino,
Este nosso lar.

The gorgeous graphics displayed on the Costa Family Christmas 2000 Celebration Pages are an exclusive creation of my very talented friend Beverly from Moon And Back Graphics. That's where beauty meets talent right in front of our eyes! Just click below on the logo below are you will be there in just a few seconds! A must see!!

The "Snow House" and the "Waving Santa" are creations of a very good friend of mine Kitty Roach. Her site is a must see! Her animations and interactive online story books for children are incredible! Don't forget to check her site!

The beautiful "Christmas Snow Globe" displayed on this page is a creation of Shari Becker. Her site is divided into areas, so it's easy to navigate and to find exactly what you are looking for. A must see!

The MIDI is "Jingle Bells" or "Sinos de Belém". It was sequenced and arranged by Ricardo Leão specially for me. Many thanks to you Ricardo! I loved it!!!