In 1887, Oregon, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey all declared a special legal holiday in September to celebrate workers. â
Afro-Brazilian religions are popular with blacks and whites alike in Brazil. Some groups follow traditional African religious practices. An example is Condomble, a religion brought by the Yoruba people of Nigeria when they came to Brazil as slaves.
The European settlers also brought ideas, innovations and belief systems with them, shaping the local societies significantly. All of these different influences have meant that the modern-day Brazilian culture is unique and very complex. At present, Brazil has a population of about 190 million people. Of these, more than half are white (which includes Portuguese, Italian, Polish etc... individuals), just fewer than 40% are mixed black and white and less than 10% are black. Approximately 80% of the population ascribes to the Roman Catholic faith. This is due to the intense Portuguese occupation of centuries ago.