Christmas in São Paulo Picture 11

More information on Christmas in Sao Paulo Photo by: João Fleury

In Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, the focus is on the decor of the malls that compete for the best decorated, with emphasis on the lyrical themes usually in the Shopping Patio Higienópolis and the true animated masterpieces of Shopping Iguatemi.

In addition, the streets light up each year and excel in bright decorations, giving the tourists an unprecedented spectacle because almost all the big city is adorned. Fields of picturesque towns like Campos do Jordão, for example, are beautifully decorated giving an European flavor to Christmas in Brazil. The Christmas decorations in Sao Paulo takes the streets, avenues, parks and monuments throughout the city. And so the population can enjoy all the programming, the City of São Paulo, in partnership with the São Paulo Turismo (SPTuris), promotes cultural tourism tours accompanied by guides who explain the history and decoration of the city. The tours start at the beginning of December until Christmas Eve.

The Turismetrô enshrined tours popular program that uses the subway as a means of transportation, provided by Sao Paulo Tourism (SPTuris) in partnership with the Metropolitan Company of São Paulo, presents a Christmas special script on the weekends of December. The tour invites the visitor to walk in points decorated for the holiday season, as the Largo São Francisco, the Museum of Sacred Art and Avenida Paulista. Bilingual guides accompany groups of up to 25 people, points of interest, which hosts artistic intervention program that explains the history and traditions of the city.

The Costumes: the decorations of the houses come in late November / early December, but every office and shop, also decorates. It is customary to have end-of-the-year meetings in workplaces, or among large families that promote the Secret Santa, a Western Christmas tradition, in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they anonymously give a gift. In Brazil it is called amigo secreto or amigo oculto (Secret Friend).

The 24th night is a very busy. The custom of the midnight mass still exists in most families, especially in small and medium-sized cities, more religious in nature. The cribs are part of the decoration and distinguishes the religious families.  Christmas dinner is usually the highlight of the evening always rich in possessions of the family, always an opportunity to meet and toast to love. The most famous dishes are turkey, french toast, fruit cakes, Christmas cake, roasted chestnuts, various fruits, nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, raisins and fruit. Some say that eating dates at Christmas brings good luck. Grapes are the most served fruit. They open the presents after dinner and the party continues with many gifts and Christmas greeting. The next morning is to prepare for lunch. Many families leave the dinner served all day. 

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