New Year traditions of Latin America
Every country has its own interesting features. Let’s see how the New Year is celebrated across the ocean.
In South America, Santa Claus brings gifts on Christmas Day, December 25th. Christmas dinner takes place on December 24th at 10 pm, after midnight, presents are opened .. And the festive decorations add atmosphere. The next day for family and friends visits and exchange of gifts.
In Latin America, there is a special Christmas bread that only appears at Christmas and is delicious.
Cola de Mono Christmas Cocktail (Monkey Tail. “Just a couple of glasses and you will swing like a monkey’s tail,” Chileans say). If you visit someone, you will definitely get a piece of Christmas bread and a glass of cocktail.s.
First-hand Chilean cocktail recipe:
1 liter of milk, 1 glass of granulated sugar, 3 tsp. instant coffee, 1 glass of brandy (or any strong alcoholic beverage), a small piece of orange peel, 1 pinch of ground nutmeg, 1 tsp of vanilla, 2 cinnamon sticks, 5 cloves.
A bottle of this liqueur is easy to find in supermarkets, but it can never be compared to freshly made at home or bars.
There is also a non-alcoholic version for children.
On New Years, gifts are not given, but they are celebrated on a large scale. A festive dinner with Christmas bread and champagne, traditions, parties, fireworks over the ocean and a picnic. In the southern hemisphere, summer, the weather is beautiful. And watching the fireworks reflecting off the water is a great pleasure. At a distance of about 10 km, on the coast from Viña del Mar to Valparaiso, fireworks are thundering. People watch it with picnic baskets.
Hispanics are prone to traditions and superstitions that attract luck, money, success, and love.
In Argentina, for example, a complete stranger, instead of greeting you, may say “Good luck, money and love.”
Sitting on the border of time between 2020 and 2021, you can think about how to preserve all the good that was in this year and carry it over to the next. One of the elderly Chilean women told me about the New Year traditions of Chile, which survived in their family.
New Year has always been a special event in my family, but above all because my aunt has a lot of experience in New Year’s traditions, as a talisman of good luck and success for the coming year, many of which originate in the countryside.
In Latin America, activities to attract good luck and various superstitions are called Cabala, which has nothing to do with esoteric Kabbalah. This word means a complex of traditions to attract good luck, success and love.
How do you feel about superstition? Are you ready to try New Year’s Cabala from Chile?
It’s fun for some, ridiculous for some, but everyone loves to start the New Year with joy. Everyone brings their own beliefs and methods to bring good luck into life.
Traditions to attract good luck.
Yellow linen
This tradition brings a great romantic future and a well-stocked wardrobe. It’s good if the yellow underwear was a gift and you didn’t buy it yourself.
It is necessary to turn it inside out before 12 o’clock in the morning, then, after 12 o’clock, put it back on the right side. This should bring good luck to your life. If you want to attract love and romance, use red underwear.
This is the most popular tradition and many reviews show good results. In rural Chile, this lingerie is worn on the wedding night, if it was used in the traditional ritual of attracting good luck and husband. And the same clothes will help increase offspring.
Wear on white
It is believed that wearing white for the New Year can prevent disease, and if you want to constantly have new clothes in the New Year, you should wear new clothes.
White symbolizes purity, joy and birth. It is also associated with “good vibes” as it is an achromatic tone, or rather a color made up of the sum of different colors. Therefore, it is believed that white clothes attract good energy and give you stability throughout the year
Eat a spoonful of lentils
If you’ve been in Chile for a long time, you’ve probably already eaten enough legumes, so even if you’re tired of them, make room for this New Year’s tradition.
It is a tradition that those who eat a tablespoon of lentils in one go will have abundance and financial well-being throughout the year. This tradition does not dictate how lentils should be cooked, everything is up to you.
So, if you want an abundant and financially successful year to come, you should eat a tablespoon of lentils at midnight for immediate prosperity.
First hug
If you plan to find love in the New Year, then in addition to red linen, immediately after midnight, you should hug a person of the opposite sex. This hug should be the first in the coming year. Then you can eat lentils.)
Tradition with a suitcase
If you like to travel and want to increase their number in the New Year, then you will have to take a suitcase for the holiday. After midnight you need to walk down the street with it. If you are embarrassed that your neighbors will see you, you just need to sit on a chair with a suitcase.
Another tradition (not New Year’s) says that in order to have good luck on a trip, you need to walk around the house with a suitcase 3 times before it.
Exchange of clothes
This tradition is to exchange clothes with your partner at midnight. This will help you achieve a more intimate and intimate relationship in the New Year, especially if there were problems. The type of clothing is not important. It can be a scarf, sweater, shirt, gloves. This will unite partners.
Put money in shoes
Put money in your right shoe. Bills will be more convenient, although in the countryside men stuff a lot of coins into the shoe. And be sure to dance the first dance of the New Year in this shoe. It should bring economic well-being, no matter how much you put in.
Opening all doors
At midnight, you need to open all the doors to let go of the old year with all the bad and let the new one in with all the good.
Gifts elephants
Gifts with figurines or objects containing elephants, sheep or pigs will bring good luck and economic prosperity.
There is an explanation for the emergence of the cult of elephants in South America. Shamans were very popular in the 80s. They recommended images of this type of animals, decorate them with money, fumigate them to ensure the prosperity of the house. They used many rituals from Eastern countries.
The tradition of giving figurines of elephants has remained to this day.
Ritual with a glass of water
If you want to remove all the negativity and sorrows of the past year, then at midnight you need to throw a glass of water out into the street; only water splashes out, the glass remains.)
To turn on the light
At midnight, you should turn on all the lights in your home to attract abundance and success all year round.
Get up from a chair with your right foot
When you want to climb out of a chair or stairs after midnight, start with your right foot. To consolidate luck and the coming year has always been on the rise.
Eat 12 grapes at 12 a.m.
Each berry symbolizes your projects and desires for each month of the next year. You need to put 12 berries on a plate and eat one with each striking of the clock, making a wish.
Chile is renowned for its agriculture and wine production, with 12 different grape varieties available for each of the next 12 months.
This tradition is just as popular as lentils, and you can eat 12 berries one at a time and make a guess so each one attracts good luck.
White candle
A white candle brings good luck. Try not to extinguish it all night on the 31st.
You can use colored candles. They will attract different energies, depending on the color. Blue symbolizes peace, yellow-abundance, red-passion, green-health, white-clarity, orange-intelligence.
spring-cleaning
To clear the house of bad energy, you must sweep from the door to the street with a broom. You should also rid the house of junk and unnecessary things. This will remove negative energy and make room for positive.
Burn the bad
Another common New Year ritual is to write down the negative moments of the year on a piece of paper and then burn it while the clock chimes to prevent this from happening again.
It is noteworthy that in Russia there is an opposite ritual: you must write down your wishes for the New Year on a piece of paper, burn the piece of paper, throw it into a glass of champagne and drink while the clock strikes.
Fill the salt shakers in the house
A very important tradition for attracting money. Salt is often used as an element to eliminate bad energy and attract prosperity. There are many rituals associated with it. Chilean families always try to keep the salt shakers in the house full so that there will be a lot of money next year.
Garlic in the wallet
Put a clove of garlic in your wallet for well-being. It is also advisable to carry 12 coins in your wallet on New Year’s Eve.
Get rid of debt
Don’t start the year with uncovered debts or you won’t get lucky in the remaining months of the New Year. Try to get this out by New Year.
Beautiful table
If you want to attract good fortune and prosperity, put the best tablecloth and dishes. If you add something gold to the table, then your house will not be short of money. And if you want an abundance of love in the family, put red candles.
Ring in a glass
If you are one of those who want to get married or attract a lover, you should put a gold ring in the champagne glass with which you will make a toast. This rite also attracts luck and money.
This ritual is practiced in couples who want to seal their commitment to marry. For lovers, on New Year’s, a ring is placed in the glass and everyone drinks half of the contents
For married couples who want to cement their relationship, the rings are placed in glasses, then glasses are exchanged. The contents are drunk, the partner’s ring is put on to seal love for a whole year. If the size of the rings is very different, then the rings are returned to the owners and the ritual is sealed with a kiss.
Many hopes and dreams appear with the approach of the New Year. And the old year is getting farther and farther away, especially if it was unsuccessful. As an elderly Chilean woman said, the passing year looks like an unsuccessful love. It will be present in your memories, but what will happen next is much more interesting, because it can always be good love and the best experience. And start the New Year with a positive and cheerful mood, try something new, new traditions, plans and desires will make the holiday more joyful and positive.
Happy new year 2021!
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