Many people celebrate the beginning of the new year in different ways. Some of the traditions are quite unique, but most involve staying up past midnight and celebrating with friends and family.
This year I paid close attention to different hispanic New Year's traditions. I had heard of some before, but I learned of some new traditions this year.
My husband likes to tell how he and his brothers would stay up late watching the sky. In parts of Mexico, there is a tradition that at midnight on New Year's Eve a gigantic cloud will cross the sky to signal the beginning of the New Year. It seems to be a pleasant memory of his holiday celebrations. He says many years they weren't quite able to stay awake, and when they did they didn't see the cloud :-)
There are many traditions that are supposed to bring good luck in the upcoming year. Eating twelve grapes as the clock strikes midnight is supposed to bring good luck. One tradition has to do with what color of underwear you wear as the New Year begins. The colors may vary, but these were one explanation I heard on the TV. Red of course is supposed to bring luck. Yellow is supposed to bring work, and green is supposed to bring money. White will bring good health. One commentator suggested to wear underwear with the Mexican flag on them because the flag has all of those colors!
Other traditions state that one should start out the New Year with a clean house. Others say you should make sure to take a bath on New Year's Eve. Some people wash their cars and even their pets to start the new year fresh.
A tradition that I learned about this year seems to be a hispanic custom. The belief is that one should bring out all their suitcases and leave the house at midnight as if they are going on a journey. I heard someone else say they got out the suitcases and walked around them a certain number of times. I'm not sure what the purpose of this is, but it seems to be a widespread tradition.
Although some customs change from culture to culture, it seems to me that all New Year's Celebrations have certain things in common: family, friends, good food, and traditions. I would wager that at the stroke of midnight in any country you would choose to visit, you would find extravagant parties and couples giving each other a New Year's kiss!
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