For the majority of readers, the Christmas season may be synonymous with cold, snowy nights spent by the fireplace. You want to be buried under layer after layer of coats, hats, scarves and gloves, a cup of steaming hot chocolate in your hand and a tiny countdown in the back of your mind as you secretly pray for summer.
However, there are plenty of people out there, around 910 million, who don’t feel the same. For them, a cold Christ- mas is a fantasy only experienced in big-hit, Hollywood movies, because this special holiday is always bound to be in scorching hot weather in the middle of the summer.
I’m Brazilian. I should know how that feels.
Brazil was originally a Portuguese colony and so the roots of all its traditions come from this European nation. For example, it is extremely common to see presépios, or nativity scenes, everywhere you go, not only in
churches, but shopping centres and
busy streets. Although Christmas
songs are not as ubiquitous as
in Europe, the ones that do
exist revolve around, above all
else, the birth of Christ.
What the Brazilians lack in
snow, they make up for in
creativity! Large outdoor Christmas
trees are decorated with a cotton-like material to resemble a light snow dusting on the branches. Some children centres use foam to act as snowflakes, fluttering down through the 35-degree heat. “Santa Claus", dressed in an attire of lightweight clothes, is always surrounded by adoring fans and cooling systems, his assistants say, “Oh, yes, Santa is desperate to take some time off and relax here in the summer!”
In Brazil, New Year’s Eve is more rigorously prepared than Christmas is, and is more eagerly anticipated. For all sport-enthusiasts in Brazil, the event to watch out for is the Sao Silvestre, a 24km-long race, where 27,500 runners participated in, resulting this year in a Brazilian-free podium - the first, second and third medallists were foreigners -
much to the disappointment of the spectators.
"Oh, yes, Santa is desperate to take some time off and relax here in the summer!”
Have you ever seen a Christmas tree made only of flip flops?
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