Did you ever want to explore new customs from other countries? A custom is a non-material society element because we can’t touch them and it is the way of doing things. To be sure you know more about customs, first I need to tell you what they are! Customs are some things that have been done for a long time so they become normal. For example, eating at a certain time every day! I believe you still don’t really know what customs are around the world. Customs are basically something that people value, are important, and they are different all around the world. It can be a celebration or a normal thing to do.

There are many customs to learn, but I will tell you about the customs of my country, Brazil! First, I’ll talk about our behavior. In Brazil, cultural values are trying to make people like us, and respecting others believes. Our behavior came from our heritage of different groups living together. Brazilians are known for their, good nature, and charm. For example, we take care of our environment, the Amazon forest.

As well as our behavior, we also have our great customs of entertainment. Second, many Brazilians love soccer! Brazil’s three World Soccer Championships made most of Brazil happy…until 1970. After that, we lost many times and this caused twenty-four years of frustration until we won our fourth World Cup in 1994. Brazil is now five times champion of the World Cup. When the year of a World Cup comes, Brazilians get very exited. We dress in Brazilian flag colors, make “waves” on the stand while watching the game, and there are many fireworks if Brazil wins a game!

Along with the entertainment, there are our big celebrations and music.

Lastly, one of our biggest celebration, Carnival, for which Brazil is very famous. It came from Europe long time ago. When Europeans came to Brazil, they brought Carnival with them. A celebration that before they wouldn’t eat meat for the forty days of Lent! When slaves from Africa were brought to Brazil, they brought their instruments with them and so Carnival now is a mixture of African and Brazilian instruments, parades, fireworks, food, and a lot of dancing of the samba. Our native music, bossa nova of the 1960’s, has now changed for Brazilian rhythms and dances like forró, lambada, and pagode.  I hope you understood the most popular customs of Brazil. My country!