Color coordinated underwear. Twelve grapes. Sweeping out the bad vibes.
These are just some of the countless traditions people partake in to welcome the new year. Some of these traditions have been passed down from generation to generation, others created out of surroundings, and some born from just straight up refusing to entertain our parents.
With 2023 on the horizon, we asked our newsroom what New Year’s traditions they practice. Here’s what they said.
12 GRAPES
Perhaps one of the most famous traditions in Hispanic households is the eating of 12 grapes at midnight. According to an NPR article from 2012, the tradition is a century or so old, though its exact origins remain debatable.
In Spain, the main national TV channel focuses on the clock tower of the 18th century Real Casa de Correos in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, where announcers and a crowd gather with bowls containing grapes. Then, the bells chime 12 times for each month; prompting the crowd to eat one for each chime.
“If you eat all 12 by the end of the final bell’s toll — and that doesn’t mean finishing with a half-chewed mouthful — then you will have good luck in el año nuevo (the new year),” the article states.
One Monitor reporter remembers it as eating 12 grapes at midnight, but also recalled another tradition: her mother sweeping the house to “sweep out the bad vibes.”
Similarly, I too have a specific memory of eating the 12 grapes to welcome the new year. When I was a child, we frequently visited my father’s family in General Bravo, Nuevo León. Normally we’d be in the Valley to celebrate the new year, but this was the only exception.
I was in my cousin’s bedroom barely awake, when my mother came in with grapes in hand. I was puzzled, but she explained in Spanish that I should eat all 12 and make a wish. This is the earliest memory I have of partaking in the tradition.
A newsroom editor not only recalls the 12 grapes tradition but also red underwear, which leads us to…
RED UNDERWEAR (though now it extends to more colors)
…this next tradition!
Various reports say that the red underwear tradition is specific to Italy, but according to Forbes, other countries such as Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela, also believe in wearing colored underwear on New Year’s Eve.
Nevertheless, they all agree on one thing: it’s lucky to wear it on the day.
InStyle broke down what each color means and is meant to invoke when worn on New Year’s Eve:
>> RED: Passion, love and romance;
>> WHITE: Peace, tranquility and harmony;
>> YELLOW: Money, wealth, luck and success;
>> GREEN: Nature, well-being, freedom, adventure and life;
>> PINK: Love, fun and friendship;
>> BLUE: Wellness and health.
The only color that has different meanings is black underwear. Some say that it’s meant to symbolize power, control, confidence and focus, while others say it could be bad luck. I prefer the first one, and that’s totally not because the majority of my underwear are that color.
AVOIDING BULLETS
“Does standing under a door frame to avoid bullets count as a tradition? Because then, that’s mine,” another news reporter said.
Fireworks aren’t the only thing being shot up to the sky on New Year’s Eve.
To welcome the new year, some will take a weapon and shoot up at the sky, which many think is a normal and fun thing to do. But what goes up, must come down — and that includes those bullets.
WTOL, a news station based in Toledo, Ohio, just recently published an interview with the city’s police department regarding the tradition. The public information officer said the rising population density has made the tradition outdated, so the best way to avoid people getting hurt is to not do it at all.
Then of course there was the case of state Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, who suffered a gunshot wound to the head after stepping outside to see the fireworks one New Year’s Eve only to have a bullet fired by an unknown reveler fall on his head.
A staff photojournalist econded this tradition, saying that she hides in her bathroom with her dogs rather than under a door frame.
SMUDGING
That photographer has another tradition.
“I smudge my whole apartment and then politely but firmly declare to any ghosts or bad juju, ‘you don’t pay rent, get out,’” she said.
What’s smudging you say? It is the practice of burning sacred plants to clear negative energy and make room for the positive, according to ApartmentGuide.com.
“Also, my mom calls to harass me every year into eating cabbage and black-eyed peas and every year I ignore her, which has become a fond tradition for me,” the photographer said.
CABBAGE AND BLACK-EYED PEAS
While the photographer has her own fond tradition of ignoring her mother’s calls instructing her to eat cabbage and black-eyed peas, she isn’t too far off.
In fact, in the American South, it’s considered good luck to eat black-eyed peas with greens. Why? Well, because it was believed that the peas symbolize coins and the greens symbolize paper money, according to the Library of Congress.
It doesn’t even have to be cabbage, which actually also symbolizes prosperity, it could also be collards. Furthermore, cornbread is also considered lucky because it’s meant to symbolize gold, according to Chron.com.
NEW YEAR’S SNOOZE
Perhaps the calmest tradition of all is a simple good night’s sleep.
One weary journalist said his tradition is falling asleep by 10 p.m.
Do you partake in any of these traditions? Or, are these new to you that you may try out this time around?
Nevertheless, The Monitor, Brownsville Herald and Valley Morning Star wish all of our readers a happy new year and to celebrate safely.
See you next year!
