Tipping is not required, except when traveling with luggage. Taxi drivers are skilled motorists and usually drive at high speeds. Godparents are practically family and in many cases will assume responsibility for god children. Family members often spend their free time together and rely on each other for assistance. Among the youth, however, many of the traditional mores and values are becoming increasingly less important.
Couples gradually emerge from the group.
Serious dating and the engagement period may last as long as 2 or 3 years. Traditional families expect the young man to ask the girl's father for permission to be her boyfriend. Weddin parties are lavish and elegant, with much food, drink, and music. Until 1977, divorce was illegal in Brasil. Young married couples occasionaly live with their parents for a time although this custom is changing.