Christmas in Brazil

By Kate Goodwin #11

BrazilPopulation-201 103 330 Flag Map

Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December to the 6th of

January. Which is in their summer.

When is Christmas celebrated ?

What is the main language ?The main language is Portuguese

How to say Merry Christmas in Portuguese

Feliz Natal

Brazilian Christmas TreeIn Brazil they do have

Christmas trees.The tree is decorated

with bright colorful lights, plastic balls and glass balls, some trees have little pieces of cotton to represent falling snow.

The Christmas trees can be seen against the night skies in major cities such as Brasilia, San Paolo, and Rio de Janeiro.

Other decorations are fresh flowers picked from the garden. Fireworks go off in the skies over the cities.

Brazilian Santa Claus The Santa Claus in

Brazil is named Papai Noel or Father Noel.

Papai Noel is the gift-bringer in Brazil. According to legend, he lives in Greenland and resembles Santa in many ways.

Papai Noel wears a red silk suit, black rubber boots and famous whiskers glistening with artificial snow.

Other Important Christmas CharacterDevout Catholics often attend Midnight Mass or Missa do Galo[a galo is a rooster.] This mass has this name because the rooster announces the coming day and the Missa do Galo finishes at 1AM on Christmas morning

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The Traditional FoodThe Christmas food in Brazil is roasted turkey, baked ham, colored rice, wonderful vegetables, fruit dishes and gingerbread.The Christmas food in Brazil is very similar to the Christmas food here in Canada.

Gingerbread Man RecipeIngredients 3 cups flour2 teaspoons ginger, ground 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ salt ¾ cup butter, softened ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar ½ cup molasses 1 egg 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and

salt in large bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured work surface. Cut into gingerbread men shapes with 5-inch cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are set and just begin to brown. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate cooled cookies as desired. Store cookies in airtight container up to5 days.

What good boys get and what the bad ones get

The bad boys and girls get a lump of coal at the bottom of their stocking.

The good boys and girls get candy and toys.

Unique FactsOn Christmas, family

and friends gather to reveal their secret friends and offer them a gift.

Brazilians are a mix of people from many parts of the world, and as a former Portuguese colony, they have many Christmas customs which originate from this heritage.

CreditsFlag-www.worldatlas.com Population- Http://www.population.com/ Map-www.lonelyplanet.com Date celebrated-Http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/

Language and how to say Merry

Christmas-Http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/ Calender-www.free-printable-calender.net Presents Photo-www.runningwithhorses.com Christmas Tree Information-Http://www.the-north-

pole.com/around/ Christmas Tree Photo-

www.alteredgroundslandscaping.comSanta Claus

Information-http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/Santa Claus photo-msrg.ca

Other Important Christmas Character-http://www.whychristmas.com/culturers/

Rooster Photo-melodypena.elfwood.com Food Information-http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/ Food Photo-riotimesonline.com Recipe-http://allrecipes.com/recipe/gingerbread-men-

cookies/ Gingerbread Man Photo-angieswaterloo.com What girls and boys get and what the bad ones

get-http://www.saintnick.org/html/traditions.html Toys Photo-freechristmaswallpapers.net Lump of coal Photo-thecheeky.com Candy Photo-outsetmedia.com Unique

Facts-http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/traditions/brazil.html