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National Holidays in Brazil |
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| Date |
English Name |
Local Name |
Remarks |
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| January 1 | New Year's | Day Ano Novo | Celebrates the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year. Festivities include counting down to midnight (12:00 AM) on the preceding night, New Year's Eve. Traditional end of holiday season.
| | April 21 | Tiradentes' Day | Tiradentes | Commemoration of an early movement for Brazilian independence, headed by Tiradentes.
| | May 1 | Labor Day | Dia do Trabalho | Celebrates the achievements of workers and the labor movement.
| | September 7 | Independence Day | Dia da Independência | Celebrates the Declaration of Independence, also called the Seventh of September.
| | October 12 | Our Lady of Aparecida | Nossa Senhora Aparecida | Commemorates the Virgin Mary as Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, Patron Saint of Brazil. Also celebrated as Children's Day (Dia das Crianças) on the same date.
| | November 2 | All Souls Day | Dia de Finados | Commemorates the faithful departed.
| | November 15 | Proclamation of the Republic Day | Proclamação da República | Commemorates the proclamation of the republic in November 15, 1889.
| | December 25 | Christmas Day | Natal | Celebrates the Nativity of Jesus.
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| Religious Holidays |
| Date |
English Name |
Local Name |
Remarks |
| February or March (Date varies) | Carnaval and Ash Wednesday | Carnaval e Quarta-feira de Cinzas | A festive season (Carnival) leading up to Shrove or Mardi Gras. Closes with Ash Wednesday (40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays), which starts the season of Lent in the ['Christian]] calendar. |
| Late March or April (Date varies) | Good Friday | Sexta-feira Santa | Commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ |
| Spring Sunday (date varies), first Sunday after the first
ecclesiastical full moon after the vernal equinox | Easter | Páscoa | Celebrates the Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus. For Christians, Easter is a day of religious services and the gathering of family. |
| Late March or April (Date varies) | Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi | Its purpose is to honor the Eucharist, and as such it does not commemorate a particular event in Jesus' life. |
Unofficial holidays
- Dia dos Namorados - celebrated on June 12 as the Brazilian equivalent of St. Valentine's Day. On this day, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, exchange gifts, cards or a flower bouquet. It is celebrated on the St. Anthony of Padua's day, because, in Brazil, he is considered the patron of those who want a loving companion.
- Dia das Mães, the Brazilian observation of Mother's Day, is celebrated every second Sunday in May.
- Dia dos Pais, the Brazilian observation of Father's Day, is celebrated every second Sunday in August.
- Festa de São João (Saint John the Baptist) is a holiday celebrated June 24 in many Brazilian cities - especially the one in the Northeast area like Recife and Maceió.
- Dia das Bruxas (Halloween) is not an official holiday but is being increasingly celebrated in some of the largest cities on the night of October 31, with costume parties with or without the custom of trick-or-treat. In 2005, some politicians voted for October 31 to be defined the Dia do Saci, referring to the Saci, a Brazilian Folklore image, and aiming to preserve national culture from Halloween, to be an alien non-positive cultural influence.
Local / Regional Holidays
- January 20: Saint Sebastian (São Sebastião), City of Rio de Janeiro only
- January 25: Founding of São Paulo (Aniversário de São Paulo), City of São Paulo only
- April 23: Saint George (São Jorge), City of Rio de Janeiro only. In 2007 the Governor Sérgio Cabral expanded the holiday to all the State of Rio de Janeiro.
- July 9: Constitutionalist Revolution (Revolução Constitucionalista), State of São Paulo only (São Paulo Stock Exchange and BM&F are closed)
- August 15: Our Lady of the Good Voyage (Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem), City of Belo Horizonte only
- September 8: Our Lady of the Light in the Pine (Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais), City of Curitiba only
- September 20: Farroupilha's Revolution (Revolução Farroupilha), State of Rio Grande do Sul only
- October 3: Uruaçú and Cunhaú Martyrs Day, State of Rio Grande do Norte only
- October 24: founding of Goiânia, State of Goiás only
- November 20: Zumbi of Palmares, Black Consciousness Day (Zumbi dos Palmares, Dia da Consciência Negra), States of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro only
- November 21: Our Lady of Apresentação (Nossa Senhora da Apresentação) Day, City of Natal only
- December 8: Our Lady of Conceição (Dia de Nossa Senhora da Conceição), State of Pernambuco, City of Belo Horizonte
- December 19 : Emancipation of the Province of Paraná, State of Paraná only.
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