If you’re spending New Year’s Eve in Colombia, then get ready for a night of color, wit, tradition and lots of positive energy.
Their New Year’s celebrations are more than kissing at midnight and fireworks. They’re symbolic, superstitious and fraught with high hopes for good fortune and happiness in the year to come.
From grape feasts to suitcase deliveries, they learn to bring in the New Year with flair and passion.
12 Grapes at Midnight
One of the most common New Year’s traditions in Colombia is eating 12 grapes during midnight — one grape per month in the new year.
Every grape is a wish or an intention, and you wish quietly as you eat each one with every stroke of the clock when the New Year starts.
It’s a lovely, quick test that brings smiles and a lot of laughter to the moment — particularly when others have trouble keeping up!
Tip: There are even families that prepare the grapes in advance, peeling and removing the seeds so you can gobble them up quickly!
Wearing Yellow Underwear
You heard it right! You have to wear yellow underwear on New Year’s Eve there. If you wish to enjoy good luck and prosperity the following year.
Yellow is a symbol of good luck, energy and happiness.
For added good fortune, some folks think the underwear must be new and even worn inside out before midnight, then turned back once the New Year starts.
Colombian stores are full of yellow underwear in the days before December 31st — it’s almost a national phenomenon.
Running with Suitcases
If you have visions of traveling more in the coming year, this tradition is for you.
At midnight, the Colombians who desire more adventures grab an empty suitcase and run around the block or house.
It’s a symbolic and playful method of introducing travel and adventure into your life.
Whether you’ve got a trip planned or not, running with a suitcase is said to open the door to great travels in the future.
Tip: Don’t worry if you can’t run around the entire block — even a spin around your living room is a start!
Burning the Año Viejo
In most Colombian towns and cities, you’ll see Año Viejo effigies — life-size dolls or scarecrows — made of old clothes, newspaper, and fireworks.
These are representations of the “Old Year” and all the problems or bad memories of the past year.
The effigy is destroyed at midnight, which represents a new start, cleansing, and guarantee of a new year to be better.
Other families even write out painful memories or what they want to let go of into the effigy before it is burned.
It’s a melodramatic, sentimental, and beautiful way of letting go of the past and opening up to new things.
Coins in Hand
Catching coins — or, better still, some cash — at midnight is believed to bring monetary success into the New Year.
Others leave coins near the front door in hopes of drawing money and luck into the home.
It is a small gesture packed with a large dose of expectations of riches and stability.
Also Read: Where to Stay in Cartagena: A Comprehensive Guide for Every Traveler
Eating Lentils for Prosperity
One of the food traditions is consuming a spoonful of lentils at precisely midnight or carrying lentils in one’s pockets.
Lentils symbolize wealth and plenty, and people believe that they will usher in wealth next year.
It is a minor but meaningful tradition that many Colombian families continue to this day.
Fireworks and Music Galore
Of course, no Colombian New Year’s Eve would be complete without fireworks lighting up the sky and music going on until late at night.
It is the time that families come together for large feasts, vallenato dances, salsa dances, reggaeton, cumbia dance, and dancing till dawn.
There are shouts, laughter, fireworks and shouting echoing on the streets — it is an energetic, live celebration welcoming the end of last year and starting the new with open arms.
Final Thoughts: New Year’s in Colombia Is Full of Magic
Colombian New Year’s traditions are full of hope, happiness, and new beginnings.
No matter if you are stuffing grapes into your mouth at warp speed, suitcase running, or dancing the night away, it’s all about the attitude of the Colombian people being joyful, communal, and hopeful towards the future.
If you ever get the chance to party in Colombia, jump on in — wear your yellow undies, grab your grapes, and sprint towards the new year with laughter and dreams in your heart.