Feliz Ano Novo !!!

January 1st, 2007
I cannot believe it is 2007! The coin hasn´t dropped yet.
The end of the year or ´Reveillon` is a big deal here in Brazil.
Brazilians are naturally superstitious and, therefore, when you celebrate the passing of year here you gotta be up to date with all the traditions. For example, it is good to wear white, the most popular , wishing for good health, yellow is for money, red should be for love and so on.

At the table for supper is good to have grapes and lentiles. If you are lucky and live close to the Coast, it is always nice to go to the beach, where most of celebration happen, with concerts and fireworks. You will be able to see many people bringing all kinds of sh%t and throwing into the sea. They are making offers to ´Iemanja´, some kind of Goddess who lives at the sea and help people get what they need. Candles are lit and left on holes dug on the sand.

When I was a kid my family would go to the beach and we would watch groups performing some type of ritual of religions origined from slaves of Africa - Candomble and Umbanda. On those celebrations they would get possessed by spirits, dance and sing. Sometimes they would sacrifice chicken. I really didn´t like that. It would creep me out.

Nowadays I have not seen those groups at the beaches anymore, maybe it is because they search for emptier locations not to be disturbed.

We (myself, Chris, my brother and his girlfriend - Fernanda) decided we should go to Copacabana, the most popular celebration of year end in Brazil. It has always been big because of the amount of fireworks and nice concerts. The weather wasn´t very helpful and it had rained the whole day, but it gave it a little break by 7pm and we decided to leave.
Fernanda´s mother lives in Copacabana, a block from the beach and she invited us to pass there and hang out with her family for a while.
It was very nice, besides being really nice and welcoming people, they had real good food.

When it was about 10pm we went down to the beach. It was crowded but not so much compared to previews years. The reasons were; 1 - the weather and 2 - a concert of Black Eyed Peas at Ipanema beach. I am glad it wasn´t overcrowded. I really wasn´t in the mood to be bumping into people.
We had a real nice time, danced, laughed, drank and just enjoyed the warm night, then fireworks.