It was tough being away from family and friends through this first holiday season. But we've really had a blast and taken full advantage of the opportunities presented to us in the midst of this. The first challenge in this has been the weather. While many people would miss cold Christmases, it's never been something we've counted on growing up in Florida. Yet, several weeks into summer, we've hit the 80's today for about the fifth time. This city is cold!!! So for us, it was a cold Christmas.
The second challenge, and most shocking thing to us, is how this city empties during this time of year. Curitiba has roughly 3 million people. It's the 6th largest city of Brazil. However, because the retirement of Brazilians is provided for socially, the main type of investment for anyone with any kind of money is in real estate, specifically, on the coast. So when you have the colossal collision of Christmas, New Years, and Summer Break for school kids, everyone heads for the coast. Because of this, tons of people get laid off within the city, or put on break from their jobs. They also head for the beach towns where seasonal employment opportunities explode. It's a strange dance, an odd cultural pattern that we're living in the midst of.
With all that said, most of our friends bailed mid-December and said they'd see us again in February. Thankfully, a few of our friends, seeing that we'd be alone for Christmas, invited us to come crash on their sister's floor in a beach town called Itapóa. So we hopped a bus on Christmas eve and stayed four days down in Itapóa in a state south of here called Santa Catarina. It was beautiful, reminded us a bit of home, and gave us the opportunity to rest, enjoy the beach, and pass the holiday with dear friends. It also provided for us the opportunity to celebrate Brazilian style.
It's a shock to us that Brazilians don't seem to suffer holiday fatigue, especially given that Brazil has seemingly, at least one holiday per week. I've always loved holidays, and felt something special during these stations of life, but like most people I know within our own culture, they wear you down. My birthday is Dec. 23 and my mom's is Dec. 6 so we started the festivities at Thanksgiving and continued on through New Year's, it was always such a full time of the year. My poor brother whose birthday arrives on January 12, each year, normally got a few gifts in the mail and people complaining or making excuses why they couldn't make a birthday party for him, they were just too worn out!
I've spent quite a bit of time reflecting during this season, and my mind has continually drifted towards Jesus' teachings regarding the Sabbath - was it made for man or man made for it. I think holidays can be reflected on in the same way, do they exist for us or do we exist for them. Too often in my life, it's become the latter. I've come to exist for the holidays, offer my life in service to its' success and completion, and come out of it worn, exhausted, and glad only that it is over and won't have to be done again for a while.
While there are some styles of Brazilian celebration, traditions, and customs that are different and interesting and enjoyable; the main thing that has stuck out to me is the attitude. It's now January 5th and walking to the grocery store and back I had four people tell me felicidades or feliz ano novo. My attitude the past four days was, "really, dude, it's over, move on". In my mind, you say Happy New Year on the first, check that off of your list, and the next day move on, already having screwed up on your resolutions, accepting that life is just life and it was just another day. But I'm learning something from the people here, who see this time of year as charged with opportunities of genuine change and transformation in their lives.
I was buying some bread yesterday afternoon and a man was talking with the owner and asking him about some problems that had been going on. He laughed and smiled and said "ano novo, vida nova". New year, new life. He didn't say it with skepticism or cynicism, but hope and expectation. It rocked me and encouraged me, it's contagious. I want to walk in that childlike faith again that can look at something as simple as a "special day" and bring meaning and hope out of the heart of it and use it.
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