Have you ever heard that Brazilians are always late? Well, with the Brazilian spirit in mind, enjoy this late Thanksgiving post.
In Brazil we don’t necessarily celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday as it is understood by those who treasure the holiday in the North. Brazilians do have a harvest festival though, it is called festa Junina. This celebration happens in June at the end of summer and beginning of the harvest.
Brazilians are also very grateful people, family oriented and joyous… people can definitely catch themselves wondering if everyday is thanksgiving in Brazil! Yeah I know… calm down right?! Well, experience the culture of Brazil and tell us what you think!
Imagine!
If we were to have a thanksgiving at the end of November in glorious Brazilian style it would be legendary. Stick with us as we imagine this hypothetical mixture of cultures!
Brazilians Love to Party
To start off, it would have to be another holiday on the official calendar. This probably wouldn’t be such a big deal since holidays seem to happen so often in Brazil that part of us can be like, “no wonder nothing ever gets done in this country!” But then another part of our Brazilian soul loves to enjoy life at the beach or inland in the countryside with family and friends… Brazilians have no problem enjoying their free time, even if limited resources are an issue, they will find a way to have fun and make life a party.
Brazilians Love Food
Brazilians take good food really seriously. Family recipes and culinary traditions are often maintained for generations. On thanksgiving people are dedicated to making REAL food but in Brazil all around more natural meals are the norm, there is a preference for food that is unprocessed and not precooked.
Some Decorations for Thanksgiving
If Brazilians celebrated Thanksgiving, we could use beautiful Capivara ceramics to serve the dishes we prepared with so much care. Read more about Capivara Ceramics here at the TheFOB blog!
We would decorate with indigenous handicrafts, furniture or instruments to remind us of the importance of multiculturalism, how peace and communion is possible, and that self-determination and autonomy are still rights to be secured for many people around the world.
Read more about Marajoara art here.
Since it is such an awaited holiday, right up there with Christmas, and it highlights the gifts of the Earth, we might also decorate using Capim Dourado. It looks super fancy, but then it’s also natural and mega Brazilian.
It could make us think of fields, the Earth, Autumn… you know where I’m going with this?! It would be Spring in Brazil at this time though… the Southern hemisphere has opposite seasons to the Northern one… You’d be surprised how many people in the Global North don’t know that… so it would be just a little weird like Christmas, full of symbolism that doesn’t quite match the actual tropical environment.
Example: picture a sweating Santa dressed in several layers sitting on the beach taking pictures with children…
Values
We usually want everything to go perfectly on these types of occasions, paying close attention to details and pouring love into our efforts. The Brazilian artists that are featured on TheFOB are exactly like that. We admire Brazilian artists that create high quality, unique pieces that embody THE love and the soul of Brazil.
Bringing it back to Brazilian art (since that’s our passion and what we are all about) it is usually celebrated like Thanksgiving – teeming with beauty and tradition.
We at TheFOB celebrate the abundance of beauty and tradition in Brazilian art!
