As has been the case for centuries in German-speaking communities both
in Europe and North America, where there has been a general lack of
books, the want of reading-matter has largely been filled by that most
important medium, the almanac. The same condition applies to Brazil. We
might call the almanac the colonist's encyclopedia. It is his
agricultural guide, medical adviser, compendium of short stories and
poetry, moral guide, diary, and a thousand and one other things in
addition to being the source of the information which an almanac is
ordinarily supposed to furnish, i.e., list the change of seasons, days
and months of the year, feast-days, eclipses, etc. To persons acquainted
only with the folk-almanacs in Europe and North America, the entire lack
of weather-forecasts in the Brazilian German editions is striking.
Among the best known and most important German folk-almanacs in Brazil
are:
_Rothermund's Kalender für die Deutschen in Brasilien_, published
in São Leopoldo and Cruz Alta, R.G. do Sul;
_Uhle's illustrierter deutsch-brasilianischer Familien-Kalender_,
published in Rio and Curityba;
_Der Familienfreund_, published in Porte Alegre;
_Riograndenser Marienkalender_, published in Porto Alegre;
and
_Musterreiters Neu-Historischer Kalender_, published in Porto
Alegre.
Rothermund's and Uhle's almanacs are perhaps the most important as well
as the most voluminous. To them one might well apply the statement found
in the preface to one of the well-known reading-texts published for use
in the "Pikadenschulen": "Darin ist alles enthalten, was für gebildeten
Kolonisten zu wissen interessant und lehrreich ist."[129]
The almanacs mentioned above have for years been appearing regularly. In
addition there have been many others, appearing, as a rule, only for a
year or sporadically. Their influence has been of minor importance.
In addition to being an indispensible source of information to the
colonists, the Brazilian German almanacs are also most valuable to
persons living outside of Brazil who want to form an idea of the life of
those colonists.