Every year we try to celebrate this day in the best possible way, and we would like to spend a special evening, which we expect to be different from all the other ones and characterised by a lot of fun, and in this way we want to say goodbye to the passed year and to welcome the new one having a good time. All over the world breath-taking feasts are organised during this special night, featuring overcrowded squares, music and dance, but if you really want to find the ideal place where to celebrate the new year, you must go to Rio de Janeiro, in particular to Copacabana beach, where every year over 2,000,000 people meet up in one of the biggest open-air feasts in the world. If we think about Rio, we immediately think about Carnival, one of the most famous world events, but the new year’s eve celebrations are second only to this.
The main feast, as it has been said, takes place on the Copacabana beach, where during the afternoon of the 31st December many cheery people begin to arrive. Around 8 p.m. the very feast starts, with a number of music performances that are hosted on 4 stages distributed all along the beach, and that cover various music genres, from traditional carnival songs to rock and dance: all of these kinds of music are perfect to dance and have fun The feast goes on on the beach for hours (we should not forget that in Rio in December it is warm, thus people are more willing to stay outside and have fun together with their own friends but also with other people that they do not know), until midnight, when the event reaches its climactic point: like in every new year’s eve celebration, the pyrotechnic show begins in the very moment when the new year starts, and in Rio this tradition is more important than in any other place. Breath-taking fireworks are launched in the sky from some boats anchored in a safe distance from the beach, and the show lasts 20 to 25 minutes, bringing light and colours in the sky. It is not casual that the Copacabana show has been recognised as the Biggest Pyrotechnic Show on Barges in the World.
However, in Brazil this feast has got also a spiritual connotation: on the 31st December, indeed, people celebrate Iemanjá, who in the Umbanda religion is considered the Ocean goddess, fishermen’s and shipwrecks survivors’ protector, as well as the creation principle, the motherhood essence and children protector. In the night between the 31st December and the 1st January people wearing white offer to this goddess flowers, candles and other gifts leaving them to the ocean waves. People say that if the gifts are taken away by the waves, this means that Iemanjá accepted the offer, and you will have a good year, otherwise, if the gifts come back to the shore, the year might not be a good one.
Rio de Janeiro and, more in general, Brazil, is well-known all around the world also for its beaches, music and rhythm and for the cheerful atmosphere that characterises it. If you want to experience all this in the best period of the year, book now an hotel in Copacabana (hotels in this area and in this period are always full ) and enjoy the best new year’s eve of the world.
Tickets: free event
Date: 31st December 2008 - 1st January 2009
Location: Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Article Source: http://www.alltopinfo.com
This article was written by Michele De Capitani with support from budget hotels for any information, please visit Rio de janeiro youth hostels or for travel insurance visit cheap b&b Rio de Janeiro.
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