Posted
on June 12, 2016
If
I told you that “Dia dos Namorados” in Portuguese for “Lovers'
Day,” would you have a guess about where this holiday is
celebrated?
Not
in Portugal, actually. Today is Saint Anthony (of Padua)'s Day Eve in
Portugal, a religious holiday before tomorrow's religious holiday
(Saint Anthony's Day itself).
No,
Dia dos Namorados is celebrated today in Brazil!
Brazil
is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world, because this
South American country was a colony of Portugal. Today romantic
couples give each other gifts such as chocolates and flowers, cards
and poetry. They often do romantic activities such as go dancing or
out to dinner. They might decorate the home with hearts and flowers.
And communities often host festivities such as parades, carnivals,
dances, and folk music celebrations.
In
other words, today is the Brazilian equivalent of Valentine's Day!
Interestingly
enough, many Portuguese-speaking nations in Africa use the term “Dia
dos Namorados” for February 14 (Valentine's Day). But that is about
the time that Brazil is having huge street parties, night after
night, in their famous Carnival...so it's no wonder that they don't
want to clutter the calendar with another sort of holiday.
I
think it's very sweet that Brazil's “Lovers' Day” is the same day
as
Learn
more about Brazil in these earlier posts.
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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