Finding the perfect place to ring in the New Year can be tough. But if you’re willing to do a little plane-hopping, you have the whole world to choose from. Which means, naturally, you’ll want to head to Brazil.

The party is called Réveillon, and it’s best described as Carnaval’s older sister—in short, a pretty satisfying way to bid adieu to 2009. The main difference is the date (New Year’s Eve, if you weren’t paying attention) and the guest of honor. Instead of limbering up for Lent, you’ll be paying homage to Iemanjá, the Yoruba sea goddess, who allows for considerably more revelry than her Catholic counterparts.

Since you’re toasting the sea goddess, you’ll be trading the streets of Rio for two-and-a-half miles of beach, populated by just over 2 million Rio natives and a peppering of extremely popular Americanos. The dress code is white-on-white—it’s summer down there, after all—with colored accessories signifying different wishes for the New Year. Green brings you health, gold brings you money, and red brings you romance…although we doubt you’ll need any help in that department.

Like any good guest, you’ll want to bring a gift for the hostess—that usually means flowers—and when the clock strikes twelve, hurl it into the sea along with the other partygoers. You’ll know it’s time when the fireworks start, but they should keep going well into the New Year; the celebration is a perennial contender for the world record of largest fireworks show on earth.

Hopefully you can create some sparks of your own.