Festa Junina

We have come full circle. Today, June 19th, marks 1 year in Brasil! Our second post on this blog included Festa Junina, however, we had no idea what we were celebrating!!

This year, we experienced the preparation for this holiday. Businesses, schools, and some families begin prepping for their party a month in advance. There is no specific day for the celebration and they tend to happen any weekend in the months of June or July. 

So, what is it? The literal translation is June Party. It was fun to ask the locals what the celebration is for. So many different interpretations of the party. The one thing that all the explanations included was that the festival honors three saints. Saint Anthony, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter and to give thanks for the rain. In the past, the festival took place inland near plantations and farms. 

Fun fact: Here in Brasil (and in Portugal and Spain as well) people view Saint Anthony as the marriage saint. The day he is honored is June 13th (Our anniversary! Hopefully that is a lucky sign.) and this is the reason that the Brazilian Valentine's Day or Dia dos Namorados is celebrated on June 12. This day is ONLY celebrated by couples and is very much about love. Tradition is, for single people to turn their picture of Saint Anthony upside down. They speak to him and tell them they do not want to be alone on Dia dos Namorados, that they want to find their one true love. The tell him that if he helps them find someone, they will turn his picture back the correct way. 

Because of the locations of the festivals in the past, most people that participated were Caipiras or Brazilian farmers. Boys typically wear plaid shirt, pants/jeans, a straw hat, a bandanna, and missing teeth. Girls are typically in a dress that is patched together (they are fancy now!), pigtails, freckles and missing teeth. Some parents go all out on costumes for their kiddos. Google does not have that many images but the pictures we took should help! I think 'hobos'. 

The school rented the largest park in the town, pulled many teachers and staff together to help set it up (notice the flags everywhere!) and pulled off an amazing celebration. Each grade level had learned a dance and performed for the crowd. The music choice was interesting, as you will see in Zane's video, but it was fun to watch the kiddos perform. 

Alden was 100% ready to participate and go, Zane was not. He felt he was too old for it and once we arrived, I realized that it is not required. Most grade levels had half of their students perform. Some students even came and watched, but would not participate. 

Here our are cute Caipiras.

Alden's Festa Junina Dance (far right - blue shirt, next to the male teacher)

Zane's Festa Junina Dance (top left group- green shirt)

After the performance, we grabbed some food and played games. 

I had to work most of the time we were there, monitoring and supporting children. But we had fun too!

Left, our assistant Barbara; middle Portuguese teaching coworker; me

After a few hours, we headed home to prep for our second Festa Junina of the day! The one inside our condo. PHEW! It was fun to watch the boys on the bull! They played for a few hours and they we headed home. Alden slept until 8:30 the next morning!! For those that know him, this was a HUGE deal!

 Looking forward to heading home in less than two weeks! The boys are ready to celebrate the 4th of July and to share with their friends here. 

Fun Fact: My mom had purchased Valentine's back in December for the boys. They put them together, wrote on them and took them to school on Dia dos Namorados (because we forgot in Feb.!) and both teachers allowed them to pass them out and share about the differences in how the two countries celebrate. Students were so surprised and I had many mom's message me when their children arrived home.