Habits and customs in Brazil

Habits and customs in Brazil

• Brazilians are famous for their festive Spirit, especially Carnival, a pre-Lenten celebration known for its extravagant parades and costumes, combined with infectious samba music.
• Brazilians love music - Beyond Samba, Brazil boasts a rich musical landscape with genres like energetic Forró, soulful Bossa Nova, and pulsating Axé.
• Capoeira is an unique Afro-Brazilian martial art that blends acrobatics, dance, and music, is another famous aspect of Brazilian culture.

What are the best recipes in Brazil?

• Brazilians eat hot meals twice a day and have many regional dishes.
• In a restaurant, the portions are often for two people, so it is useful to ask how many people the dishes on the menu are for. It is not necessary to tip in restaurants, this is usually already included in the receipt.
• A visit to a typical Brazilian barbecue restaurant or “churrascaria” is recommended. Here you usually pay a fixed price for ''as much as you can eat''.
• Popular in Brazil is the comida por quilo, a self-service buffet.
• Feijoada is a stew with different types of meat.
• Many snack bars offer salgados, these are fried snacks.

What are the best drinks in Brazil?

• Cafezinho (coffee) in Brazil is very strong and is offered in small cups.
• People drink little tea, but a milkshake with fruit juice is extremely popular (vitaminas).
• It is recommended not to drink tap water, but to buy it in the supermarket.
• Well-known beer brands in Brazil include Brahma, Antarctica and Skol. These are comparable to our pilsner.
• The national spirit is cachaça, made from sugar cane. This drink is the basis of the popular caipirinha, a drink made from cachaça, lots of sugar, lime and crushed ice.
• Guarana is a soft drink known for its stimulating effect.

What are the notable holidays and festivities in Brazil?

• Carnival in Rio de Janeiro – The dates of the celebration vary each year, but it always starts on a Friday and ends on a Wednesday. The parades in Brazil are world famous for their samba music, dancers and beautiful costumes. Definitely something to put on your bucket list: Carnival in Rio.
• Festa de Iemanjà – February 2, The goddess Iemanja belongs to the Candomblé religion in Brazil. In Salvador, people go to the beach dressed in white and throw offerings into the sea for the goddess.
• Tiradentes – April 21, Tirandentes took responsibility for the protests against the Portuguese for high taxes. He started a call for liberation and is seen as a national hero in Brazil.
• Boi Bumba – In June, Brazil has an atmospheric folk festival based on local myths and legends. The large puppets, parades, dance and music come from Portuguese, Indian and African influences. Festa Junina – June/July, this is the celebration of the birth of John the Baptist and in the northeast also the end of the rainy season. The festival is often celebrated in a wooden hut with a thatched roof.
• Oktoberfest – The largest beer festival is of course held in Germany. Did you know that Blumenau in Brazil comes in second place? The city was discovered by the German Hermann Bruno Otto von Blumenau. Inspired by the Oktoberfest at home, it is also celebrated every year in Brazil.
• Independence Day – On September 7 in 1822, Brazil became an empire and independent from Portugal. On this national holiday, parades take place throughout the country.
• Fiesta de Nossa Senhora Aparecida – October 12 is the day to honor the holy Black Mary, the patron saint of Brazil.
• Proclamation of the Republic – November 15 is a national holiday. Brazil became a republic on November 15, 1889, through a coup d'état by a group of military men and republicans.