New Year’s has gone by: classes have started and by now some people have definitely given up on their New Year’s resolutions. A new year tends to evoke ideas of new beginnings and starting afresh, reflected in many traditions. Here I bring you some popular Latin American traditions.
Many people might be aware of the twelve grapes eaten in most Hispanic households. As soon as midnight arrives, you must hurry and eat a grape for every clock strike. As fun as it might sound, doing it every year may cause you to dread the moment those grapes are placed on the New Year’s dinner table. You’ve been warned.
It really brought the whole neighbourhood alive and made for quite the hectic midnight
A lesser-known Latin American tradition are the suitcases. As soon as the grapes were finished, my aunt and grandmother used to take the big empty suitcases out and we would carry them around the block. Being three years old when I first joined in (as soon as I could properly walk), I was instead given sand buckets. While quite tiring, it used to be my favourite New Year’s celebrations (after the fantastic midnight dinner of course). I loved going outside with my family and seeing other people, alone or in groups, also walking or running with their suitcases. It really brought the whole neighbourhood alive and made for quite the hectic midnight.
These traditions are meant to bring you luck – and great travelling adventures with the suitcases – for the next twelve months. In Peru, yellow is considered the lucky New Year’s colour, leading to this next, slightly quirky tradition. Everyone is encouraged to wear yellow on New Year’s Eve to ensure their good fortune next year. Out of all clothes, underwear is particularly popular, believe it or not. You will see people everywhere selling all different styles and sizes. It’s impossible to escape the yellow during those last few days of December.
At the end of the day, New Year traditions are a way to bring you and your loved ones together and start the next year anew with a positive mindset
This next Colombian tradition, “el Muñeco de Año Viejo” (the Old Year’s doll), might be hated by toy lovers. On New Year’s Eve, you place the doll in a fire-proof container. Then, on little pieces of paper, you write down your reflections on the past year and what you want to change. You also write your goals for the next year. The reflections go into the container, which is then set aflame, symbolising a fresh new start. Moreover, once midnight strikes, some Colombians will put cash in their wallets as a wish for new fortunes and prosperity.
To be honest, I have never taken part in all these traditions at the same time, and I know most of these might not sound familiar to most. At the end of the day, New Year traditions are a way to bring you and your loved ones together and start the next year anew with a positive mindset.
