Millions flock to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro on New Year’s Eve to make offerings and watch a spectacular fireworks display.
New Year’s Eve in Brazil is called Réveillon, from the French word for the long holiday dinners preceding Christmas and New Year’s Day. Though celebrations abound throughout the country, the most famous, and the largest tourist attraction, occurs on the beaches throughout the Zona Sul in Rio. Between 2 and 3 million people, almost all of whom wear white, fill Copacabana, Ipanema, Flamengo and Barra de Tijuca, among other locations. The fireworks display on Copacabana can run nearly a half-hour, and often includes epic cascadas, one that runs down the entire Hotel Meridien in Leme; these faux waterfalls of fire make it appear that the building itself is engulfed in flame.
The event marks perhaps the most public exhibition of traditional spiritualist or afro-brazilian syncretic religious ceremony. Followers of both Umbanda and Candomblé make offerings to the goddess of the sea Iemanjá including jewelry, sweet foods and most commonly white flowers, which are thrown into the ocean. The flowers may be bought along the beach or at grocery stores, which are careful to keep them in stock on this night.
2 million people on Copacabana, all dressed in white and tossing white flowers into the sea is really quite a sight. And to top it all off, despite Rio’s reputation as a violent city, there have been no police reports (!) on New Year’s Eve in years. Wow.
Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for making it such a great first year for the Portuguese Blog! We look forward to seeing you in 2008, when we will continue our podcast, add contributors, and generally continue to enjoy ourselves while learning all about Brazilian Portuguese.
