Porto Alegre, 12/26/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - A white Christmas in Brazil is asking for too much, but there is a way to celebrate the Holiday Season in the midst of pine tree covered mountains. That would be in the mountains (região serrana) of Brazil's southenmost state, Rio Grande do Sul. According to local tourism authorities, there are some 500,000 tourists in the area at this time of the year, mainly in the towns of Canela, Gramado and Nova Petrópolis. There isn't any snow, this is summer in Brazil, but the visitor can take advantage of the flowers - the area is also known as the "Região das Hortênsias." The only problem is that most of the region's hotels are full - booked up until the end of January (which is also school vacation time in Brazil). (AB)