Funny Colombian New Year’s Traditions You Should Know

New Year’s Eve in Europe often involves pricey events, bustling crowds, and sometimes nobody to kiss at midnight. In Colombia, things are quite different. Families come together in cozy, joyous gatherings filled with warmth and tradition. Want to know how Colombians ring in the New Year? Keep reading to uncover this unique celebration.

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Want to know more about Colombia? Explore the shared traits of Colombians, the most renowned festivals, and the specificities of the different natural regions. This will definitely give you many travel ideas.

The Colombia New Year’s Traditions Quest

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As New Year’s Eve gets close in Colombia, it’s time for the legendary quest to ensure an awesome year ahead.

About a week before the big night, you rush to the store, excited to buy a fresh outfit, including some yellow underwear—but you can’t wear it until then.

On the morning of December 31, you transform into a cleaning master, eliminating dust and clutter to make everything sparkle.

In the afternoon, you head to a nearby river for a refreshing bath, a Colombian tradition to purify the soul. You come out feeling refreshed and ready to celebrate.

As evening approaches, you get dressed carefully for the family gathering, making sure to have some cash and lentils in your pockets – symbols of wealth and good luck. You also bring a suitcase and a bundle of wheat to put on the table.

At 11:57 p.m., you arrive and turn up the music with “Faltan cinco pa las doce” playing, holding 12 grapes, each representing a wish. At midnight, you eat them one by one, imagining prosperity for the new year.

After eating the grapes, you grab your suitcase and start running around your house with your right foot first, filled with hope.

After the run, you’re out of breath but thrilled, and you ask for a champagne shower, feeling like a Tour de France winner, wearing that special yellow underwear symbolizing riches and fortune.

To wrap up this adventure, you burn a doll that looks like someone you don’t like. As it burns, you feel closure and believe nothing bad can touch you in the coming year.

With these lively traditions and a heart full of optimism, you welcome the New Year with confidence, sure it will be full of joy, success, and unforgettable adventures. And so, “The Heroic New Year’s Quest” in Colombia continues, filled with colorful traditions and a bright future.

Explanation of the different Traditions

Did you like my story?

Now it’s time to explain a little more about each Colombian tradition.

13# Bright Yellow Underwear

Strap them yellow undies on, kids!! Yellow, like on our beloved Colombian flag, represents gold – everybody’s favorite metal. 

Wearing yellow underwear is one of Colombia’s (and Latin America’s!) best-known New Year’s traditions.

Our ancestors in Latin America saw yellow as a symbol of new beginnings. This vibrant color represented the sun, eternal life, and vital energy to them. But that’s not all! In some cultures, yellow was like the golden ticket, symbolizing wealth and fertility.

Fast forward to today, and you’ve got a color all about success, luck, money, and abundance.

So, if you want some dollars coming your way this new year, make sure your daks are as yellow as a Civil War deserter.

And yes, you’re better off wearing a clean (and new, if possible) one than borrowing one from your cousin.

In fact, it’s a great gift to give on New Year’s Eve.

Ah, and one more thing. It’s even better to put it upside down!

12# Money in the Hand

There seems to be a lot about money in Colombian New Year Traditions. And, unless you’re some kind of stinking pinko like yours truly (from time to time), you’ll do your best to get on board. Another way to ensure you’ve got cashola for the upcoming year is to have some Colombian pesos in your hand or pocket for New Year’s. Of course, a fifty thousand peso bill is best.

11# Twelve Grapes and Twelve Wishes

Now, this is something you have to prepare well in advance.

The grapes are the easy part: every Colombian supermarket has equal parts booze and grapes right now.

As soon as the clock strikes midnight, you have to quickly gobble twelve delicious Colombian grapes while making a wish for the coming year. Pay attention. It must be one grap for each clock strike. You better practice a few days before, it’s not that easy 😉

Some people like to stand up on a chair when they do so.

Apparently, this tradition was founded back in Spain by crafty grape growers with a surplus. Still, make sure you’ve got twelve GOOD wishes ready in advance. One of mine is going to be for a gold-plated toilet. Damn! I just said that out loud. It’s never going to happen now.

10# The Suitcase

If you’re unlucky enough not to be in Colombia, New Year’s Eve is your best chance to rectify this appalling situation.

Grab your suitcase and run around your block as fast as you can.

If you do this correctly and in the right spirit, you are absolutely guaranteed to travel in the coming year. It’s a Science thing; please don’t try to argue.

You must do it once you’ve eaten the twelve grapes.

9# Put your right foot forward

It’s the easiest way to start a successful year. Once the 12 strokes of midnight have sounded, you must take your first step with your right foot.

Stand next to someone you trust and copy him if you can’t tell left from right.

8# Lentils

This is another tradition that somehow originated in old Europe. 

Eating lentils with rice is going to bring you good luck and money in the new year. In some instances, you might get away with just putting a handful of these hearty legumes in your pocket instead.

It’s no lechona, but, you know, sometimes you’ve just got to bite the bullet. And the lentil. It’s all in the name of luck, after all.

7# Wheat on the table

Colombians place wheat on their New Year’s table, a practice that originated in Europe.

The tradition, later adopted by the church, was brought to the New World by the Spanish during the conquest. In Colombia, wheat was first cultivated in 1541.

Offering wheat symbolizes wishes for fertility, friendship, and an abundance of food in the homes where it’s shared.

6# Eating (and Drinking) + a quick champagne shower

You might have noticed a theme of eating and luck being developed here. Really, December in Colombia seems to be about stuffing yourself stupid, and New Year’s Eve is certainly no exception here.

All the Christmas food available in the country will probably make an appearance on the table, and it’s best if you eat as much of it as your conscience and digestive tract can take.

Also, beware!! Our old friendly foe, Aguardiente, will probably make an appearance, as well as some whiskey (depending on your geography, it could well be Old Parr), and, certainly, a beer or two. There will also probably be some champagne, which is primarily used for showering everybody with. LMFAO’s got nothing on Colombia.

And, being in Colombia, there will be some dancing, too. Bring your eating, drinking, and dancing shoes, my good friends.

5# Spend New Year’s Eve with your family (then you can go out)

In Colombia, family is everything. Traveling 8-10 hours to attend a birthday party or baby shower is no problem. Christmas and New Year’s Eve are no exception.

Once all the Colombian New Years traditions have been completed, people go around town to wish other family members a happy new year. Then, around 2 a.m., the young people party in nightclubs.

4# Your last song of the year will be “Faltan Cinco Pa Las Doce.”

Yes, the DJ addict (we all have one in the band) won’t be able to choose the last song of the year.

In Colombia, almost everyone will listen to Faltan Cinco Pa Las Doce (Nestor Zavarce’s version). It means “5 minutes missing for midnight”.

Strangely enough, the song is only 3 minutes long, so I suggest you put it on at 11:57!

3# Blow up the Old Year

As any Michael Bay aficionado will know, fun and danger go hand in hand. Have you seen Bad Boys 2? It’s even badder than Bad Boys 1! Well, probably the most diverting Colombian New Year’s Tradition is blowing up the personified Old Year. This, although fun, has resulted in injuries in the past, so make sure you’re safe with this one – you don’t want anyone walking close by when the Old Man’s fireworks get cracking. If done correctly, there’s no better way to say goodbye to the past year and make ready for a new, exciting, hopefully Colombian, year.

As a rule, you burn a doll bearing the effigy of someone you don’t like (often the president). On my New Year’s Day in Cali, I saw a life-sized doll burned on a street corner. It was pretty impressive, especially when it started to explode.

As a rule of thumb, don’t burn a doll that looks like your mother-in-law if she’s around.

2# Clean the house before partying

Another Colombian tradition to wash the bad memories is to clean your house.

It’s all about setting the stage for a fantastic year ahead.

So, here’s the lowdown: clear out the visual clutter, make your place smell amazing, ditch what you don’t need, and be a bit eco-conscious to save some cash and the planet. Go all in with a deep cleaning session, rearrange your furniture for a new vibe, and show your kitchen some extra love.

1# Wear a new New Year’s Eve outfit

The Colombian tradition is probably the most respected, even among families with little recourse. Every year, Colombians spend their money on a new outfit to be worn for the first time on New Year’s Day. Some also do it for Christmas!

There’s no belief in this New Year’s tradition. It’s more about showing off.

And now you’re ready to celebrate New Year’s Day like a Colombian. Before you come, I suggest you read our article on the best time to travel to Colombia to find out what festivals are held at the end of the year 😉

Where to spend New Year’s Eve in Colombia

It’s better to be in big Colombian cities if you want to celebrate it.

Cartagena: The most famous spot

One of the tourist destinations of the world, this gorgeous old pirate city becomes a proper show-off when NYE swings around.

Where else would you rather douse your companions in Veuve than in this steamy, sexy, jewel of the Caribbean?

Stuff yourself at a gourmet dinner, carouse on the ancient fortified walls, or dance til there’s no more dancing at one of the many glamourous shindigs taking place. Cartagena is where the Colombians who can make it go to really cut loose on New Year’s.

I reckon it’s a pretty good idea to join them.

Bogotá: If you don’t like the heat

Maybe it doesn’t really share the sassy glamour of its northern rival. That doesn’t mean that the funky, grungy Colombian capital doesn’t know how to rock the party.

Why should New Year’s be any exception? We suggest people-watching as streets such as Septima (Carrera 7) are taken over by revelers waiting for the fireworks and then hitting up a club such as The End to dance yourself well into another year.

Author’s note: This article was originally published by Paul Giles on the site www.seeColombia.travel. It has now been edited by Thomas Espeute, following the acquisition of SeeColombia.travel by Tomplanmytrip.