In Brazil, the June festival adapted from European Midsummer is called Festa Junina.
Festa Junina, also known as festas de São João, is celebrated throughout Brazil during June. Portuguese colonists introduced the festival during the colonial period, and it became associated with the Catholic feast days of Saint Anthony, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter. Saint John’s Day, on 24 June, is particularly central.
The celebration preserves elements linked to European midsummer customs, including bonfires and a maypole decorated with colorful pennants. In Brazil, however, the festival developed its own regional identity, especially through rural Brazilian culture, country dancing, costumes and foods made from corn and other local ingredients.
Because Brazil lies in the Southern Hemisphere, June is midwinter there rather than midsummer. That is why the festival is sometimes described as a Brazilian adaptation of European summer-solstice traditions rather than a literal celebration of Brazilian summer. Festa Junina is also distinct from Carnaval: both are major festive occasions, but they have different histories, calendars and customs.