Happy New Year

First of all, we would like to wish a happy new year for all and we hope that this year of 2008 be full of accomplishments.

Do you know how Christmas is like in Brazil?To start with, Christmas in Brazil is in plain summer, therefore you can imagine the winter jackets, scarfs and gloves are replaced by swimming suit, shorts and t-shirts and besides of going sking and playing in the snow is more common to go to the beach and get a sun tan. The Christmas decoration is similar to other places in the world and they started in the end of November and beginning of December. It is time to get together and celebrate with the wholde family. On Christmas Eve the family gathers to eat Christmas dinner. The tradional dishes are roasted turkey, lentils, “rabanada,” very similar to French toast, dried and tropical fruits and not forgetting the Panettone, typical Italian bread with dried fruits inside. Some people believe that eating ”dàtils” on Christmas day gives luck. After eating dinner is time open the gifts that Santa Claus has broght, but not through the chimneys (very few house in Brazil have chimneys) and followed by toast of and wishes of a Merry Christmas. The next day for lunch is typical to eat the left over of the day before and many families leave some food on the table during the whole day.

On New Year’s eve almost every one dresses in White. White is the color of peace and hope and this ritual means that the coming year will better than the year that has past. Also some people may dress in White but wear underwear of diferent colors such yellow that means friendship; red for love; green for Money and White for more a even better coming year. Furhtermore, there are people who go to the beach and lit a candle to the Sants and send them in a Little floating basket. This tradition is an influence of the African religion where is comom of make offer to “Iemanjar” the godess of the sea. Before eating the New Year’s dinner is typical to serve lentils which reprensents luck and hapiness for the coming year. Finally the grapes is a fruit that is eaten a lot throught the end of holidays.

How did we celebrate the holidays?
We went to Calafell, a very touristic city on the beach where Anna’s parents have a summer house where for a moment we imagined that we where in Brazil however the cold reminded us not so. We celebrated Christmas with the family and then we made “the uncle poop” (cagar el tio) a tradional costom in Catalunya where a few a days before Christimas the kids feed a dried tree trunk (“el tio”, the uncle) believing that the more the tree trunk eats the more gifts will give they will receive for Christmas. A while after the kids give food to the tree trunk the parents tiptoe to the trunck to hide the uncle’s food without that the kids notice it. Then the next time that the kids feed the tree trunck the may think that the tree trunck has eaten all the food. Then, on Chritmas day as the parents cover the tree truck with a blanket and hide the gifts under it, the grandparents take the kids to another room to pray. Finally to make the “the oncle poop” the kids sing some tradional songs while hitting the “oncle” with a wooden stick and once they uncovered the tree trunck they find all the gifts.
Then for New Year we celebrate it with a group of friends at a house where we had dinner and at midnight we ate 12 grapes, one grape for everytime that the bell rang. Then we did Kareoke the whole night long.