How does Latin America celebrate the arrival of the New Year?
Each country has different ways of celebrating the old year that is leaving and welcoming a new one. In the popular imagination, it is a ritual that serves to close one cycle and start another on the right foot.
Some of them are similar to each other, with one or another variant depending on the country.
And others are standardized throughout the region, based on traditions from other countries.
Some rituals are well known , like the famous 12 grapes that you have to swallow one for each chime at midnight while making a wish.
There are also those who keep a ticket in their pocket or put a coin in the shoe so that the money will not be missing in the coming year.
And there is no one missing the one who gives a walk around the block with a suitcase to ensure a year in which trips are not lacking. There are those who even do this ritual with their passport in hand.
Known or not, or similar or different, all these rituals have one point in common: try to start the new year with prosperity. There are those who ask for money, others for health or the love they long for; and others who do it for fun or just “just in case.”
Which of these are the lesser-known rituals?
- What do you eat at Christmas in the countries of Latin America and where does that tradition come from?
Throwing water out the window…
Water is a powerful catalyst for change and renewal. But in some countries you have to be careful not to get a bucket of water on your head if you are walking down the street on the last day of the year.
In Uruguay it is celebrated “el baldazo”, which is throwing a bucket full of water out the window onto the street. It is said that this tradition drives away the sorrows of the year that is ending and welcomes one full of prosperity.
As it is summer in the southern cone, A lot of people don’t take it seriously and see it more as a game (or something annoying depending on whether you are the person who throws or receives the water).
Other versions skimp on the quantity and instead of a bucket they throw a glass or a “bombita”, a balloon full of water.
In Cuba something similar is called “el cubazo” , which, as in Uruguay, consists of throwing a bucket of water through windows and balconies. This has two objectives: clean energy and give fun to the neighbors.
… And papers
Another variant of water is throwing papers out the windows. In Uruguay it is also customary to throw away the old calendars (or almanacs) already broken or burned.
This may be due to the tradition of getting rid of everything old to make room for the new objects that the new year will bring.
They do not necessarily have to be calendars. In some countries they tend to clean the house thoroughly as a purifying act, be it those shoes that you no longer wear or something you don’t need.
In other places there are those who sweep the house, making sure to remove the dust from the inside out through the door. But you have to make sure to clean every corner as deep as possible, to avoid that the energies of the old year remain in the house.
The burning of the year and “the widows”
At Like water, fire is an element that means renewal or purification.
In many Latin American countries they proceed to burn a doll or puppet made of flammable materials, such as paper, sawdust and old clothes.
In Ecuador the “burning of the old year” is popular, a practice with origins in colonial times that consists of burning a doll. This can represent a famous person, whether real or fictional, such as a politician or the protagonist of a movie.
This tradition is accompanied of “the widows” , men dressed as women with exaggerated makeup and wigs who “cry” for “the old man” while walking through the traffic asking for a collection that Then they will be used for the party.
Minutes before midnight, the will is read, prepared with a lot of humor and satire, amid the cries of pain of the widows. People attend celebrated by doing other rituals, such as the twelve grapes and the suitcase ride.
In the north of Chile it is carried out the “Burning Monkeys” , which are huge figures of recycled paper and old objects that symbolize the bad experiences of the year to come.
The practice of burning dolls also extends to Nicaragua (where it is called “El viejo”), Colombia, Peru, Mexico and some areas of Venezuela and Argentina.
Another variant that is practiced in many countries, much simpler, is to write a number of wishes for the New Year (usually three) on a piece of paper, or to write down the bad news of the old year, and burn it at midnight with the respective precautions.
Lentils, but not just to eat
If you want to have good fortune, you should eat lentils. It is believed that this food means not only good health but also fortune.
There are those who do not limit themselves only to eating them. There are also people who try to put lentils in those places where there is usually money , such as the pockets of the clothes or the wallet.
There are also those who greet the New Year embracing their loved ones with a handful of lentils in hand, or those who place these grains in the corners of the house to ensure that the good luck comes home.
The custom is not limited only to lentils but also to different types of grains, such as rice. They are placed on a plate with a candle that is left lit overnight on 31 and then
Many people believe that lentils remind them of ancient Roman coins and That is why the custom that comes from Italy.
Although people do not just rely on having a handful of lentils or rice nearby to call for luck and money.
In Mexico there are people who are used to give away lambs considering that it is an animal that brings happiness (not in vain, Mexicans refer to money as “Wool” informally).
In Costa Rica people He also usually carries a branch of Saint Lucia, a purple-flowered plant believed to bring good luck. It is placed in wallets and bags so that money is not missing.
How will the weather be?
If you are in Mexico or Colombia, you may know what cabañuelas are, which in some parts of Spain are known as temporas.
But in case you don’t know what they are, it is a traditional method of meteorological prediction. And many people, believing in their truthfulness, he looks at them to know what the climate of the new year will be like.
There are those who insist that this method does not have any scientific rigor . But this does not prevent many people from taking advantage of the last day of the year or January 1 to see how the weather will be in the next 12 months and even make plans based on it.
The method is as follows: the first twelve days of January represent one month in ascending order (January 1 represents January, January 2 is February, January 3 is March, and so on). And from 14 to the 24 January the same but in reverse (13 from January is December, 23 January is November, etc.).
After 25 to the 30 of January each day represents two months in ascending order depending on the time (From midnight on 25 January to noon represents January, and from noon to midnight of the same 25 January represents February).
And finally the 31, each two-hour stretch represents one month in descending order (from midnight to 02: am is December, from 02: 00 am until 03: 00 am is November, etc.).
Ekeko
In Peru and Bolivia you cannot miss the ekeko , a figurine of a few centimeters that represents a man dressed in the typical manner of the Andean highlands.
Although the cult of this character is not limited to the New Year, people take it as an ideal opportunity to have this Aymara deity present.
It is said that the ekeko comes loaded with a great quantity of packages full of food and necessities. And if it is cared for well it will bring abundance and joy.
But be careful, because if it is neglected or abandoned, the ekeko it can turn things around and bring misfortune.
The care of this amulet at the end of the year also coincides with the fact that in January the Alasita Fair is celebrated, a traditional festival of which the ekeko is a central figure.
The egg
In some Central American countries it is customary to crack an egg and put it in a glass of water. There are those who leave it overnight on 31 December in the open next to the window, or even put it under the bed .
It is said that the shape the egg takes will be what the new year holds.
What the pandemic left us
It is known that the clothes you wear are an important element to take into account when the chimes of the 12 of the night.
In countries like Venezuela it is known as “bringing the premiere” or “putting on the premiere ”to the latest garments purchased. The idea is that the New Year can’t catch you wearing old clothes.
Color is also important. Yellow pa For the money (many insist it has to be underwear), red for those who are looking for a partner and white for good energy.
But modern times require modern solutions and there are those who already adapt the old customs with the new ones wearing masks of these colors.
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