One of our friends, Andrés, is originally from Columbia, where they have some very symbolic New Years Eve traditions. This is the first year he has not been in Columbia for New Years Eve so we wanted to help him feel a little more at home. Here is my experience:
Tradition 1. Wear yellow underwear. It is said to bring wealth and prosperity in the coming year. Well, I don't actually own any yellow underwear so I left it up to my friends to pick some up at the store while they were out shopping. Everyone had a good laugh when I opened the bag to find yellow Flash Gordon superhero briefs. Ha ha ha, joke's on me. The REAL funny part came when we all realized they bought the wrong size. I haven't fit in a 28 waste in two decades. But I tried...for the cause. And no, there are no pictures.
Tradition 2. JUMP! At the stroke of midnight, we were all standing on a chair (or couch) and we jumped down to the floor. This was to help us take on 2012 with momentum and energy.
Tradition 3. The suitcase run. After we jumped down and kissed our loved ones, we each grabbed a suitcase and ran around the outside of the house. This tradition ensures good travels in the coming year. Not sure if it meant anything significant but my wife and I held hands while we ran, hopefully that means we can go somewhere together.
Unfortunately we could not find any grapes with seeds because there is one more tradition we tried to uphold. But since we couldn't pull that one off, we substituted with a few American traditions...we drank Champagne and watched Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve.
Nappy New Year!
