Quick guide to celebrate New Year's Eve in Mexico!
There are numerous possibilities for things to do if you want to ring in the new year in Mexico. Hotels and resorts provide themed events in tourist locations. Restaurants that provide special New Year’s Eve meals and dance celebrations for locals and tourists can also be found in less popular locations.
You can take part in one of these options, or simply head to the town square to enjoy the street celebrations, which are sure to include firecrackers, fireworks, and sparklers, along with friendly cheers and confetti throwing. At midnight, there is a lot of noise and everyone shouts, “¡Feliz Año Nuevo!” People hug, make noise, and throw more firecrackers.
Most Mexicans celebrate New Year’s Eve by dining late with their families. Those who want to party usually go out afterward. The biggest public celebration takes place in Mexico City, where a huge street festival is held on the last night of the year. The festivities revolve around the city’s huge main square, the Zócalo, as well as the monument known as the Angel of Independence.
Leaving lentils at the door
For some reason, lentils feature heavily in New Year’s Eve celebrations in Mexico. You can leave them on your doorstep on December 31 or have a lentil soup just before midnight (or just after). You can also put a handful in your pocket, purse, or wallet if you don’t feel like snacking. In any case, they are associated with abundance and good luck. They are worth a try, aren’t they?
Wear red (or yellow!) underwear.
According to tradition, if you want to attract good luck on New Year’s Eve, you have to plan your attire accordingly, right down to your underwear! Supposedly, red underwear will bring you love in the new year, while a pair of yellow underwear will bring you money and happiness. And if you’re already rich and in love, green underwear for health and well-being, pink for true love and friendship, and white for hope and peace.)
Eating 12 grapes in 60 seconds
Perhaps the most famous Hispanic New Year’s Eve ritual is eating 12 grapes and making 12 wishes during the 60-second countdown to midnight.
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Dining late
Mexicans have a reputation for eating late, as lunch is traditionally the largest meal of the day and dinner is also late. However, on New Year’s Eve, they go the extra mile and don’t usually sit down to eat until around 11 pm. If you want to celebrate like a local, you have to stay hungry well into the night, so you can enjoy the traditional foods.
Traditional Foods
Bacalao, dried salted codfish, is a New Year’s staple in Mexico. The most common way of preparing it is in a dish called Bacalao a la VizcaÃna, which originally comes from Spain. It contains tomatoes, olives, and capers. Lentils are also eaten as they are thought to bring abundance and prosperity for the coming year. Toasts are made with sparkling cider, and a hot fruit punch known as ponche is also popular most of the traditional Mexican Christmas foods are also good choices for New Year’s Eve
In Oaxaca, there is a tradition of eating crispy fritters called buñuelos, which are drizzled with sweet syrup and served on a ceramic dish. After eating the sweet treat, people make a wish and break the dish by smashing it on the floor or a wall. This represents a breaking with the past.
This custom may hearken back to an Aztec tradition surrounding Atemoztli, the sixteenth month of the Aztec calendar, and a special festival in which plates, pots, and other dishes were broken as a way to break with the past and make way for new things to come.
Going out to celebrate and watch the fireworks.
Unlike Mexican Christmas, which is a firmly family-oriented celebration, New Year’s Eve is something that is increasingly celebrated with friends in a bar, restaurant, or public square. That’s not to say you can’t take your parents with you. In any case, if you spend New Year’s Eve in Mexico, you’ll be spoilt for choice for fireworks, drinks, and dancing.
Burn your negative thoughts
While the writing of propósitos, or resolutions, is just as common a ritual in Mexico as it is in many other countries, there is also the tradition of purifying your negative thoughts and bad energy before the start of a new year.
Put money in your shoes
This one is as literal as it sounds – put some money in your shoes and you’ll allegedly enjoy good fortune during the following year! Equally, it’s said that just holding money in your hand (the bigger the bill, the better!) when the ball drops will bring prosperity in the new year…and it might be more hygienic than sticking pesos in your shoes.
Sweep the house
Sweeping the house is a classic way of ensuring good fortune in the upcoming year. In cleaning the floor, not only are you saving yourself a job for the morning but it’s also said that you’re emptying the house of negative energy and ridding the bad vibes. Similarly, having the December version of a ‘spring clean’ is typical too – many people will throw out all the items that no longer work or are no longer used to open the door for new prospects in the coming year. If you’re not a fan of cleaning, leaving all the lights on in your house at the strike of midnight is also said to bring prosperity.
Travel
Pack a suitcase and walk around the block with it to ensure safe travel and wonderful adventures. If that is not possible, put the suitcase in the middle of the room and walk around it for several minutes.
New Year’s Day January 1 is a national holiday and is an obligatory day of rest for schools, banks, post offices, and government offices. Many stores, restaurants and other businesses close voluntarily. However, most tourist attractions; museums, galleries, and archaeological sites remain open. Check before you go.
Whether you celebrate with friends or family, enjoy this holiday and its rituals. A tip is to be prepared if you have pets as it is a very noisy day, but remember that this is part of Mexican folklore, and the celebrations aren’t over yet! January 6 is Kings Day when Mexican children receive gifts brought by the three Kings, and eat rosca de reyes.
