“Mom, how will eating lentils make me rich?” My 10-year-old son asked that when I told him about a time-honored New Year’s Eve ritual we would partaking of at midnight on Dec. 31.
I had no explanation other than eating lentils on New Year’s Eve is a tradition from my country, and people from Latin America truly believe that if you eat lentils – even better if you do so with a silver spoon – you will earn more money in the year to come.
My son, who was born in the United States, gave me a look of sheer incredulousness. Sure enough, though, at 12 a.m. later that same night, he had his silver spoon in hand eating lentils like crazy.
As funny and superstitious as that may sound, it is only one of many New Year’s Eve traditions that we Latinos share in our native countries. Some of us have brought these rituals to homes and neighborhoods here in the U.S.
I’m sure that my neighbors in Duluth would share my son’s skepticism if saw my husband I and our three children all sporting jackets, gloves and hats and walking around our neighborhood, suitcases in hand, after the clock strikes midnight on New Year Eve.
The idea is that you will travel in the new year. We did this religiously back home in Venezuela and now we are keeping the tradition alive here. Truthfully, we have enjoyed great trips every year.
Other traditions you will see in many Latino households on New Year’s Eve include eating and making a wish on 12 grapes at midnight. Women who hope to find their true love in the coming year will stand up on a chair and get back down 12 times in a row.
And although silly, wearing yellow underwear on New Year’s Eve supposedly brings good fortune.
Before the clock strikes 12, some Latinos will also put their drinks down and grab a wad of bills – the higher the amount the better – because having money in hand at midnight is meant to bring economic prosperity in the New Year.
And to ensure that the coming year is even better than the last, in many Latin American countries people can be seen cleaning and sweeping their houses, in an “out with the old” mentality that also serves the purpose of ridding their homes of negativity.
French author Sophie Lounguine said it best in her book dedicated to New Year’s Eve traditions and customs: “Every country, every town and every religion has its rituals to dispel bad luck and bring fortune… rituals in which one wish alone is hidden: that the new year be better than the last”.
For some people, such as Chester Gillis, a professor in the Department of Theology at Georgetown University, these rituals represent “the myth of the eternal return, of the hope in a new beginning. People think that tomorrow everything will be possible”. In an interview with Agencia EFE, Gillis said, “the only thing that happens at midnight on December 31st is the passing of another minute on the clock.”
For many Latinos, however, these New Year’s Eve rituals are a significant part of the customs and traditions that make up this holiday, and that’s why we celebrate them in this country, hoping to pass them on to future generations of believers.
I’m sure my son and his siblings will continue eating lentils at midnight and running around our neighborhood with suitcases in hand on New Year’s Eve, images of dollar bills and exotic vacations undoubtedly prancing through their minds.
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