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Show iftlMlfl"' Tift ft ' .. ' MiK.mV'ffift;;---.' ft L i JOAO PAULO LOUREIORO Christmas in Brazil Imagine eating fresh tropical fruits outside in your yard or on a nearby beach. Imagine December temperatures soaring over 100 degrees. de-grees. To Joao Paulo (Jon-Paul) Loureioro, Brazilian exchange student, stu-dent, this isn't imagination. It is Christmas in his native country. Because Brazil is south of the equator, December is one of the mid-summer months. Summer vacation for school students starts in November and ends in March. Christmas and New Year's are fun festive breaks in the summertime. Jon-Paul notes many Christmas customs celebrated in Brazil parallel para-llel the American celebrations. There are Christmas trees and Santa San-ta Claus. Homes are decorated using us-ing the same motifs found in the U.S. but there are fewer street decorations de-corations in Brazil. The summer atmosphere is con ducive to beautiful Christmas fireworks fire-works displays on the beach. Christmas parties start Dec. 24 at midnight with a large meal that features turkey, corn, fresh tropical tropic-al fruits and a special sweet bread with a brown sugar sauce called "rabanada." Presents are exchanged ex-changed when Santa Claus or "Papai Noel" arrives. He visits the younger kids, ignoring adults. The family celebrations spread to homes of friends and usually the entire community becomes involved. in-volved. The conclusion of the Christmas Eve celebration for teenagers is partying on the beach. Most Brazilians belong to the Catholic religion so many watch the Papal Mass from the Vatican on television. Many attend church services on Christmas Eve or sometime during Christmas day. |