Culture of Brazil

Brazilian culture is of a very diverse nature. The religion of most Brazilians is Christianity. In fact, Brazil is the largest country in the world whose predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. Many other beliefs over time have been incorporated into the Brazilian catholic belief system such as Spiritism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Ayahuasca, and Judaism as well as religious syncretisms, such as candomblé, umbanda, and macumba, that mix Catholicism with African tribal religions. A majority of the population are non-practicing Catholics and would actually be considered agnostics in many circles. Certain denominations of Christianity, such as Pentecostalism, Methodism, and the Baptist church have also gained a large following.

Both Brazil and the United States are large countries whose population was formed by multiple immigration sources from many countries, each one bringing its own culture. But although the Americans pride themselves on the diversity of multiple cultures and their generally peaceful coexistence, the Brazilian idea of culture is one of mixed unity, containing many diverse ingredients, but composing one meal, so to speak. While the ideal image of the average American is the idea of a white Protestant living next to an African-American or a Jew, the Brazilian is typically white but also multi-ethnic.

In Brazil, religions are not mutually exclusive, therefore for every Saint one may light a candle to, there is an equivalent Orixá (a major deity in candomblé that corresponds to a saint or religious figure in Christianity), that many feel they should also name, just to be safe.

Sports in Brazil
The most popular sport in Brazil is football (soccer), and the country is renowned for the quality of its players, including Ronaldo, Pelé, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Zico, Romario, Carlos Alberto, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Garrincha, and most recently, one of the world's most recognized players and the current holder of the title of best football player in the world, Ronaldinho. The Brazilian national football team has been victorious in the World Cup tournament a record five times and after the third time, Brazil kept the World Cup trophy permanently.

Brazil has also achieved success in some international sports, mainly volleyball, basketball, tennis, gymnastics and auto racing.

Curiosities:
- In Brazil, someone may come into your house and stay for hours. Meetings and social gatherings, other than in business settings, tend to be scheduled at times that are subject to change. Generally speaking, the Brazilian concept of time is more a sequence of events than time on a clock. This usually means a Brazilian will rarely be on time. There is a folk exception for the people from Minas Gerais. They are acknowledged to come to a meeting early rather than late.
- Brazilians are also very mixed in their ethnicity. Someone with slightly lighter skin might be considered white. Most Brazilians, about 35.5% of them, have a mixture of Indian, African, and European in their blood lines. Instead of focusing on ethnicity, Brazilians tend to classify people in terms of social class. The very wealthy tend to seclude themselves. The middle class aspires to be part of the wealthier class. The poor concern themselves with family and getting through the day.
- When thinking of a Brazilian family, you might envision the Italian family in their large gatherings where dozens of conversations can take place. In small cities, it's common for the Brazilian family to share meals together, meaning that family members come home from work or school for a couple of hours during the day to have lunch together and then rest before leaving again (similar to the Spanish "siesta"). Lunch is usually the largest and considered the most important meal of the day.
- Most Brazilians drink coffee for breakfast every day, and "breakfast" in Brazilian Portuguese is café da manhã, meaning "morning coffee". This is not true in other Portuguese-speaking countries, however. In Portugal, for example, "breakfast" is "pequeno almoço", or "small lunch". The drink's popularity had a probable origin in the earlier days of Café com leite (Milk and Coffee) politics (a reference to Brazil's domination by the "coffee oligarchs" in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais). Although Brazil is mostly tropical and therefore very warm, Brazilians prefer hot coffee to iced coffee. Decaffeinated coffee is largely unknown in Brazil.
- Many parents name their children after a combination of their own names. For example, parents named Ademir and Monica might name a child Amon or parents named Luciano and Ediléia might name a child Luciléia.