VALENTINE´S DAY IN JUNE?

More than any other day of the year, Valentine’s Day is a holiday exclusively dedicated to the concept of romantic love as the ideal.

When compared to other countries, you’ll find that Brazilians often have a different concept of Valentine’s Day. The most obvious contrast, for instance, involves the date on which Valentine’s Day falls in Brazil: June 12. This is done so that both Carnival and Valentine’s Day can get their own time and place. As you can see, this is a sign that people in Brazil really take Valentine’s Day seriously. If you are going to be celebrating Valentine’s Day in Brazil, you need to develop the right plan for success. 

The first thing you have to plan is the meal. Most people celebrating Valentine’s Day in Brazil will have to put some intense thought into where they will eat. Another important part of Brazilian Valentine’s Day involves giving gifts.  The best way to celebrate the holiday with gifts is to get some excellent chocolates, beautiful flowers, and perhaps a sensual massage for both of you. 

CURIOSITIES AND SUPERSTITIONS: 

Brazil is mostly catholic, so following Valentine´s Day is St. Anthony's Day. The Portuguese monk who died in the 13th century is a patron of matrimony. Through the centuries, girls would not only pray to St. Anthony for a husband ASAP, but also engage in less religious activities such as writing the names of three potential boyfriends on little pieces of paper and placing them under their pillow on the night of June 12 to June 13. The one they drew first in the morning would be their fate. 

A much more disrespectful custom would be bullying the image of St. Anthony as a way to threaten him to help out. A typical way of doing that would be leaving the image, upside down, behind a door, until a proper boyfriend came by!