Stories of Paraná - Santa Claus x Grandpa indium

Stories of Paraná - Santa Claus x Grandpa indium

Santa Claus x Grandpa indium
Ruy C. Wachomcz

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, were quite sharp conflicts detected acculturation in society Curitiba.
Foreigners with their descendants formed a respectable contingent on the formation of the population.
In such circumstances, the exchanges were inevitable and ethno-cultural influences exist.
Seeking to minimize this acculturation, some elements of Portuguese-Brazilian origin, who considered themselves "patriots" and "nationalists", began to criticize the influences that immigrants were beginning to exercise.
This behavior is detected even at parties and on Christmas traditions celebrated in different ways by different groups.
In Paraná, the Luso-Brazilians had virtually no Christmas traditions.
At most it was a supper, attendance at traditional "midnight mass" and dances where one stood out "caboclinha the way," a "chimarrita" and guitarist in the back of the room, surrounded by numerous admirers.
From the second half of the nineteenth century in the colonies to the capital round about come the figures "presepe", the "pine tree" and a little later the glitzy Santa
Noel. The crib was better accepted by the Luso-Brazilians: after all existed the cult of the "Baby Jesus" coming from Portugal.
Regarding the "pine tree" and the figure of Santa Claus, the reactions were stronger.
The "Christmas trees" covered in pieces of cotton, imitation snow and adorned with shiny objects (considered trinkets desgraciosas), customs were introduced in the city by the Germans and Poles. Cotton mimicking the snow was seen as anti-Brazilian custom, distorting the child's mind, since there was no snow in December and the temperature could reach 30 ° C.
Was the Santa Claus figure received more criticism.
This tradition originated from Nordic folklore, was introduced in Brazil, under the French, and published in the Protestant world by capitalism.
Some in Curitiba saw it from the perspective of ridiculous dress "cloaks Siberian" and skins "groelândicas", sled riding, and having their hair, beard and Shawl flecked with snowflakes: exoticism ridiculous.
That was how "they" (the immigrants) celebrated the birth of Jesus.
Soon after the Revolution 30, with nationalism to the surface, Rio, São Paulo and Paraná tried to replace this figure by another Scandinavian, "hick", more Brazilian.
Created the figure of the "Indian Grandpa" artificial substitute the figure of Santa Claus.
Their creators thought they were taking the first step to "abrasileirar Brazil."

Ruy C. Wachomcz historian and professor UFPR


Source: Stories of Paraná, Brasil.