New Year's Eve in Florianopolis, Brazil -
New Year’s Eve in Brazil is a special night almost anywhere in the country and New Year’s Eve in Florianopolis is certainly special. The island and the beaches of the Santa Catarina mainland seem to be invaded by half of South Brazil, as people from Sao Paulo down to Porto Alegre come to celebrate Reveillon on the beaches and in the clubs.
Floripa’s best clubs can be phenomenally expensive on New Year’s Eve though, especially if you leave buying tickets until late December. If you don’t fancy paying up to R$1,000 per person - for one night (with drinks and canapés included...) in a Jurere club, don’t let that put you off. New Year’s Eve in Brazil is all about being on the beach anyway. Most Florianopolis beaches will have some action, some fireworks, some music and lots of people partying until dawn and beyond.
Go Floripa’s advice is to buy a few cases of beer, a few bottles of fizzy and a few bags of ice, put them all in a coolbox (the light polystyrene ones are for sale everywhere reasonably cheaply), take some food, some cangas to sit on, and head to a beach such as Jurere, Barra da Lagoa, Campeche or Praia do Rosa in the early evening. Having your own transport is a good idea for this if you have lots of people and lots of refreshments to take.
You could also head into Florianopolis (the city) to watch the main firework display from the Beira Mar Norte road. Reveillon dos Sonhos (New Year of Dreams) will be very busy, on the way in and the way out with the main road closed, and the roads around busy for traffic and parking. Around 300,000 people were watching to see in 2009. The midnight fireworks are set off from the Hercilio Luz Bridge, as well as from boats anchored out in the bay, which makes for a photogenic little entry into the ano novo.
Whether on the beach or at the main display, you should head down to the water at some point soon after the midnight fireworks finish. Here you need to jump seven waves, as is traditional in Brazil. This is one way of keeping the goddess of the sea, Iamenja, happy. Another way is to make offerings of flowers and incense to her. You will see many people casting gladioli, roses and lilies into the waves, or burning candles and incense on the shore after midnight.
The beaches are free, as are the fireworks and you can buy your own to supplement any official displays too. Be careful on the sand later into the morning as champagne bottles tend to litter the beaches, some of them will be broken. Don’t leave anything of value in your parked vehicle if you do have one.
The only other advice that you need is for your clothes. Make sure you wear white for New Year’s Eve in Brazil. This is supposed to help the new year arrive in peaceful style, as the gods such as Iamenja are pacified by white. Some people in Brazil also believe that wearing different colour underwear beneath your white clothes can help your wishes come true. Wear red knickers if you’re in need of love, and yellow if you’re in need of money.
Whatever you wear you should have a memorable night for all the right reasons. Generally , New Year’s Eve in Brazil is one of the safest nights of the year, with so many people celebrating on the beaches, and a friendly atmosphere all around. With Floripa being perhaps the most relaxed city in the whole of Brazil, you can almost guarantee that your New Year’s Eve in Florianopolis will go with a bang.