Parabéns pra você!
Nesta data querida!
Muitas felicidades!
Muitos anos de vida!
It means something like this:
Congratulations to you!
On this wonderful day!
Much happiness!
May you have a long life!
Then, immediately after the song, they shout out:
É pique, é pique
É pique, é pique, é pique!
É hora, é hora
É hora, é hora, é hora!
Rá-tim-bum!
(Then they call out the name of the person three times)!
Then while everyone’s clapping, the person blows out candles on a cake. The cake is cut after that, but before the knife goes in, the person makes a wish.
At this point, all of the people who came to celebrate can make a wish, too. Everyone imagines the knife going in the cake at a certain point, and if it does, they say your wish will come true.
People in Brazil celebrate their birthdays no matter how old they are. They order a birthday cake, buy the candles, and have a party with their friends and family.
They eat out at a restaurant, and then they cut the birthday cake. They can keep it in the restaurant in advance, and then two or three of the staff will bring it out once the meal is over and sing loudly. You see it all the time no matter what kind of restaurant you go to, and the people sitting at the other tables also join in the singing and clap at the end. I’ve had my birthday party at a restaurant several times, I and always love it. It’s a great memory.
Brazilians love to celebrate!
When a relative or friend is going to have a baby, Brazilians celebrate baby showers like they do in America. Here they’re called Chá de Bebê. The event takes place between the sixth and eighth month of pregnancy so that the friends can help prepare to welcome a healthy baby. They give clothing and other items that can be used immediately after the baby is born, and then snack and chat for about two or three hours. In the past, only women would attend, but these days men come as well.
So everyone is celebrating before the baby even arrives.
In Brazil, women stay in the hospital for two days on average if it is a healthy vaginal delivery, or about four days for a Cesarean section. It’s a short period of time, but relatives and friends who know about it still go to the hospital to see the baby. You can hear their happy voices coming out of the hospital room. The mom hands out small gifts that she prepares in advance to the people that stop by.
The big birthday party comes when the baby turns one. It’s a celebration of a healthy first year, a time for distant relatives to see how much the baby has grown, and a time to thank the people that have helped raised the child. Most of all it’s a celebration of gratitude. People rent out event spaces in their apartment buildings or venues designed for children’s parties and invite a hundred or a hundred and fifty people. In addition to food, there are children’s goods and toys as well as a bar for the adults. Everyone hangs out together for four or five hours. The table that has the cake on it is filled with all kinds of enticing sweets as well.
There are stores that sell party goods designed specifically for these huge events. There are balloons, cups, plates, and decorations for all kinds of different themes. Everything here is made to make children’s birthday wishes come true.
Recently, more families have been celebrating the first and second month after a baby’s birth as well. Brazilians really love to celebrate! And when you think about it, it’s a wonderful thing. On with the party!
Right?
