There is a tradition in Colombia to welcome January first by burning up the bad things that happened in the year that is ending. The Bad Things are symbolized by big puppets - larger than life, stuffed, and ready to be hung and lit on fire in effigy. As you drive around the country of Colombia just before December 31, you can occasionally spot some puppets on the roadside, getting ready to be crisped.
 |
And in restaurants and bars on New Year's Eve, Colombians engage in special rituals to welcome the new year. My family and I were in Bogota, at a festive, high energy bar/restaurant called Andre Carnes des Res. Having been advised to buy tickets well in advance of December 31, as soon as they went on sale, we secured our spots.
One of the women at the table next to ours came over, asked me to put out our hands and she poured into them some dried lentil beans, which are to be in your right pocket when the new year begins.
Waiting for us at our table was a cardboard box of women's underwear and wheat sheafs. The women's underwear ended up on the heads of some men (such as my husband). But more traditionally, the wheat sheafs are procured by Colombians as a symbol of plenty. As New Year's Eve approaches, wheat sheafs are seen for sales in the streets. Vendors walk between cars, selling them.
At the restaurant, small wheat sheafs are placed on the table in front of each person, along with some currency and 12 grapes.
As you place each grape, you think of a wish. When the clock strikes midnight, you eat all twelve grapes in the hope that your wishes will come true.
