No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsArts and CultureCosta Rican Traditions Promise Prosperity in the New Year 

Costa Rican Traditions Promise Prosperity in the New Year 

If your ship didn’t come in this year, don’t despair. There’s always next year – and the eve of a new year might be just the time to practice some of the magical rituals handed down through generations in Costa Rican Traditions to give your luck a little boost.

Late at night on Dec. 31, sprinkle a handful of rice in every corner of your house. Next day, sweep up all the grains with a new broom and save them in a little bag. The old wives guarantee this will keep food on the table all year.

Another way to keep the household cornucopia full: stuff a large loaf of bread with grains of rice, corn, coffee beans, black beans and sprinklings of sugar and salt. Tie the lucky roll in a red ribbon and hide it in a closet or cupboard. (If nothing else, this will keep the cucarachas well fed all year.)

Wear something yellow on New Year’s Eve and you’re bound to meet your true love in the year to come. If you already have a true love, wear yellow anyway; it ensures good luck throughout the year, especially if you wear it on Jan. 1, too. If you wear something new, you’ll be well dressed all year.

Eat an orange at midnight – and don’t take more than a minute to do it – to guarantee plenty of food for the coming year.

If it’s travel and adventure, you’re after, pack a suitcase and leave the house with it at exactly midnight. Walk at least one block to ensure a year full of travels.

To guarantee money all year, Ticos used to ask 13 different friends for cincos (five-céntimo coins) before midnight Dec. 31. The tiny coins are virtually extinct now, but the tradition lives on using five-colón coins.

If 2024 was a bad year, take a bath or go for a swim at the stroke of midnight to wash all the bad luck away.

To know what the weather will be like in the new year, make a note of the weather on the first 12 days of January, known as the pintas because they paint (pintan) the weather for each month of the coming year.

On Jan. 1 or before, cut a bouquet of the fuzzy blue or lavender wildflowers known as Santa Lucía that grow in pastures and on roadsides. Said to be medicinal for eye ailments, the plant is named after the patron saint of those with eye problems, and the flowers are essential New Year’s magic. As you cut them, recite with devotion: “Santa Lucía de enero, Tenme todo el año con dinero.” (Santa Lucía of January, Keep me in money all year.)

A bunch of Santa Lucía blossoms in the house on New Year’s Day will keep you solvent all year, and if you dry them, wrap them in paper and carry them in your purse or wallet, you’ll never find yourself short of cash.

An old Tico belief holds that whatever you’re doing when the clock strikes 12 on Dec. 31 will characterize your year to come, so make sure you’re engaged in some worthwhile or pleasurable activity.

¡Feliz año nuevo!

Trending Now

4,500 US Marines Launch Anti-Drug Operation in Latin America Waters

In a significant escalation of efforts to counter organized crime and drug trafficking networks, the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has deployed more than 4,500...

Costa Rica President Confronts Calls to Strip Immunity

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves denounced today an “attempted judicial coup” as he appeared before a congressional committee that must recommend to the full...

Costa Rica Drivers Face Yearlong Delays as Tárcoles Bridge Undergoes Repairs

Those who frequently use the South Coast Highway, near the Tárcoles river, will have to be more patient.  Repair works have started on the...

Fan Violence in Latin American Football Spurs Debate on Security and Culture

Images of a fan jumping from the stands to escape a beating as bottles, rocks and seats fly through the air at a game...

Costa Rica Anglers Catch Rare Orange and Albino Nurse Shark

Anglers on a fishing trip off Costa Rica's Caribbean coast caught a nurse shark unlike any seen before: bright orange skin and stark white...

Costa Rica Replaces One-Lane Bridges as Traffic and Population Grow

As the infrastructure of Costa Rica advances, with new four-lane highways and a series of bypasses around San José that avoid the narrow, congested...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica