By Shandra Keesecker-Rivero – Excerpts Republished from 2012:
Interesting Mexican New Year’s traditions:
1. Eat 12 grapes at midnight, one with each stroke of the clock, while making a wish with each new grape (seedless ones tend to work best). This is by far my favorite tradition!!
2. Sheep figurines bring bring luck and abundance in the New Year. The term “lana”, which is literally translated as wool, also takes on the meaning of money in Mexico. The sheep figure needs to be received as a gift in order to bring good luck, plus remember to tuck it behind the front door somewhere.
3. Late night dinner with the family, followed by going out with friends after the strike of midnight and fiesta to dawn. (Here in Peñasco there are lots of New Year’s parties to pick from with dinners, music, and dancing so be sure to check one out!)
4. Don special colors as New Year’s underwear: the most popular color in Mexico is red for good luck, love, and passion in the New Year, though you may also choose yellow for wealth, green for health, or white for peace.
5. Hoping to take a trip in the coming year? At midnight on New Year’s grab an empty suitcase and take a walk around the block to represent possible travel. Another choice can be to stack some empty suitcases in the middle of the room and walk around them a few times, indicating the travels you hope to take.
6. Cleaning out the old, and bringing in the new. At midnight, open the front door and sweep out the “old year”. Then, place some coins near the front door and sweep them into the house to ensure abundance in the New Year. You can also place three coins in each corner of the rooms of your house to help attract prosperity.
7. Many say it is important to make sure all the laundry is done and the house is clean before ringing in the New Year. Placing some type of gold ornamentation in the home will also help bring good luck and abundance.
8. Fill a bucket with water and at midnight toss this out a window (or the front door) as a way to get rid of the past year.
9. Fireworks – the explosions of fireworks are sure to chase off evil demons in order to start the year off “demon free.”
Happy New Year 2014!!!