Brazilians are known to be a joyous, celebratory culture of people.  A good friend of mine, Natalia, shared with me a custom that is performed in Brazil, typically on New Year’s Eve.  When the clock strikes midnight, and the country of Brazil lies on the very threshold of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, a major celebration takes place along the coast of Brazil.

Everyone and anyone, who is in or near a coastal Brasilian city at that very moment, rush to the Atlantic Ocean.  All clad in white attire, a celebration takes place in which the Brazilians unite and join together and rush into the sea to ring in a happy and prosperous coming year.  According to Natalia, it is a form of worship to Brasilian saint, the name of whom she could not quite pinpoint.

Such a joyous celebration highlights the nature of such a culture that contains such celebratory events as the annual parade/24-hour-Pre-Ash-Wednesday party of Carnival.  While this ritual delineates the exuberant nature of such a culturally-rich people, it also simultaneously emphasizes their religious fervor, in that it is a celebration of a national saint.