Saturday, June 12, 2010

Te Amo Amor

It’s Valentines Day here in Brazil. I love it that those of us who are here from the United States (and other spots) enjoy TWO Valentines Days per year. Sweet stuff.

If you are without a Valentine, fear not. The Brazilians have it all figured out. Valentines Day has been plunked down on June 12th because it is the eve of the Day of Saint Anthony. You know him – he’s the saint you pray to when you want to find a husband.

The story goes that when Valentines Day was brought to Brazil from Europe (way back when) the traditional date of February 14 (the day of Saint Valentine’s death) was a non-starter. It was too mixed up with Carnaval. So they logically tagged it onto the celebration of Saint Anthony, the matchmaker.

I have it on good authority (old Brazilian women) that you can strong-arm Saint Anthony into matching you up with your special someone. All you do is bury a statue of Saint Anthony upside-down and tell him you will not right him until he does right by you. Or if you really want to get his attention, remove the baby Jesus from his arms (on the traditional statue) and promise not to return him until you have been sent your match.

Good luck with that.

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