Christmas in Brazil: amigo secreto, ceia de Natal and summer

Feliz Natal in the summer

Brazil is in the Southern Hemisphere, so December means school holidays, long days and heat. Trees, lights and snowy decorations go up anyway, Papai Noel wears his full red suit, and shopping centres fill up in the weeks before the 25th. Many workers receive an extra month’s pay, the “décimo terceiro salário”, before Christmas, which helps with gifts.

Amigo secreto everywhere

Secret Santa is huge in Brazil, where it’s called amigo secreto (or amigo oculto in some regions). Offices, schools, friend groups and whole families draw names weeks in advance. On the day, each person describes their secret friend with hints before revealing who it is, while everyone else shouts guesses. Some groups add a funny version, with joke gifts first and the real ones after.

Want to organise one? Here are our Secret Santa rules.

The Ceia de Natal on Christmas Eve

The big moment is the night of December 24. Families gather for the ceia de Natal, a late dinner that often lasts until midnight, when people hug, wish each other “Feliz Natal” and open presents. Some go to the Missa do Galo, the midnight Mass.

Decorations, Brazilian style

Alongside the tree, many homes set up a presépio, a nativity scene, sometimes with dozens of figures and a whole village around the stable. Balconies and shop fronts are covered in lights, and city squares compete for the biggest tree.

Some cities have shows that families plan the month around. In Curitiba, a children’s choir sings Christmas songs from the windows of the Palácio Avenida building, a tradition that has drawn big crowds every December since the early 1990s.

Christmas Day

December 25 is a national holiday and a slower day. Families eat the leftovers at a long lunch, visit relatives, and in many places head to the beach or the pool. In the south, the town of Gramado hosts Natal Luz, a Christmas festival of lights, concerts and parades that runs for weeks.

Then Réveillon

A week later comes Réveillon, New Year’s Eve, which is just as big. Many Brazilians wear white for peace, and some choose a colour of underwear for the year they want: yellow for money, red for love. On the beaches people jump seven waves for luck, throw flowers into the sea for Iemanjá, and watch fireworks, most famously on Copacabana in Rio. Lentils on New Year’s Day are said to bring prosperity.

The soundtrack of December

One song follows Brazilians through every shop in December: “Então é Natal”, the Portuguese version of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”, sung by Simone and released in 1995. It plays so often that it has become a running joke, and a sure sign the season has started. Another tradition is on TV: since 1974 the singer Roberto Carlos has had a year-end special on TV Globo, and for many families it marks the end of the year.

Useful phrases

Visiting Brazil in December?

• It is high season: book flights and places to stay early, especially for Réveillon on the coast.
• Many shops and restaurants close, or open late, on December 25 and January 1.
• It is hot, and afternoon storms are common in many cities. Bring sunscreen and an umbrella.
• Invited to a ceia? Bring something: a panetone, a bottle of wine or a dessert is always welcome.

Messages for friends

December is also the month of mensagens de Natal: long messages to friends in group chats, stories on Instagram and, more and more, online trees. Friends share the link to their Christmas tree and everyone hangs a gift with a message, sealed until the 25th. For a Brazilian Christmas that peaks at midnight, it means one more thing to open at the end of the ceia.