To me, Christmas means summer vacation. Christmas is going to the beach and feeling the heat, it’s seeing all of my family and spending the night of Christmas Eve with them. It’s wearing tiny dresses and sandals and exchanging presents on the 24th. It’s partying with my cousins through the night. This doesn’t sound much like a Christmas holiday movie, does it? But that’s Christmas in Brazil and most of Latin America for you! I also imagine that other countries in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s summer in December, have some very different traditions than Canada and the U.S.
Here, at the end of the year, it’s summer so naturally, it gets pretty hot. Because of that, I’ve never had a ‘white Christmas’ even though that’s all we see in the movies. Like most folks, I grew up watching all of the holiday movies where people walk around in the snow and open up presents on Christmas morning while wearing matching pyjamas. That’s not something I’ve ever done, and it seems pretty distant from my reality. I really love our Christmas traditions here, and we don’t see much of it in the media, especially not in Canada. So I figured I could do something about that and share with the world what a not-so-white Christmas looks like.
As I’ve said, for Brazilians we mostly celebrate Christmas on the night of Christmas Eve. That’s because we meet for dinner at night and have fun together. Then, when it’s midnight everyone screams “Merry Christmas!” or “Feliz Natal!” and hugs. After that, we can finally exchange gifts. When I was a kid, it was so much fun to be awake until midnight, but soon after I got my presents I would fall into bed and sleep immediately.
My cousins and I on Christmas Eve in 2009
On the actual Christmas Day, the 25th, we usually get together again and eat the leftovers from Christmas Eve on a late lunch, because everyone is tired from staying up all night. That’s why, at least for me, Christmas feels like it’s on the 24th. That’s just a feeling that I get and it’s not necessarily how all Brazilians feel. We still have other traditions that are more similar to the movies. We do have Santa coming around, we decorate the house with Christmas lights and exchange gifts, even if it is on Christmas Eve.
Another tradition we have, that I believe was inherited from the North Americans, which doesn’t make a lot of sense in our country, is the food. Our Christmas dinner here is usually roasted turkey and mashed potatoes, plus some other side dishes, like potato salad. But the funny thing is that we almost never eat those foods over the year, turkey is not a very common type of meat in Brazil and it’s almost only in the supermarkets during the holidays. I also feel like these are foods for colder climates and here it’s always pretty hot, so it’s the worst thing having to cook all of those dishes in the oven while it’s 32°C out there. It seems pretty weird to me.
This year I would’ve had my first “White Christmas,” just like the movies! But I couldn’t travel to Canada because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s another Brazilian Christmas for me! It’s not a bad thing, I really love it. Honestly, the thought of spending Christmas in the cold and only getting my presents on the morning of the 25th doesn’t seem a lot like Christmas to me. Still, I’m excited to have a full-on “White Christmas” one day. I hope it’s in 2021.
One thing that is present all over the world during the holidays is love and hope. This year Christmas is going to be different for everyone, doesn’t matter where you are, but I think that even with all those different traditions we can still feel the magic of Christmas and cherish our loved ones, even if it is through Zoom. This year hasn’t been easy, so I think we should try to make the holidays a time of peace, love and gratitude. What are you doing for Christmas?