Going Chileno on New Year’s Eve (yellow underpants and all)

The other day, I was reading a book on the balcony when I got a call from Tony. He was out for a walk, looking for a place to get a haircut.

“I am at the Tobalaba metro stop and there are a bunch of stalls selling yellow underwear,” he said. “What is that all about?”

I love this kind of stuff! “Take a picture,” I begged, but he had already walked too far to turn back.

I immediately got online and found out that wearing yellow underwear is just one of many strange New Year’s Eve rituals in Chile. Right then and there, I vowed to do them all. I spent a couple hours researching until I realized all the websites were saying the same thing. The traditions are pretty straightforward, but I struggled to find out the origins. Maybe nobody knows. (Side note: One of the most interesting articles I read about Chilean NYE traditions was unexpectedly found in The China Post.)

Yesterday morning, we made a quick trip to our nearest supermarket to load up on the fixin’s for our traditional Chileno New Year’s Eve. Then we headed out for a bike ride. After all, it’s summer! The ride gave me an opportunity to kick off our celebration, though.

Chile NYE Ritual #1: Wear new clothes!
For Christmas, we gave each other clothes, so this was an easy one. Tony wore his new Adidas T-shirt. I wore my new bike shirt with pockets in the back. That meant I could ride with my phone and pause for a selfie at the top of Cerro san Cristobal.

My new bike shirt pockets meant we could also stop at a street corner on the way home to buy our yellow underwear, and I would have an easy way to transport them home. Apparently, it’s important that your yellow underwear is a gift, so Tony and I parked our bikes in the shade and took turns purchasing panties for each other. You know he loved that, right? This makeshift underpants shop had a surprisingly good selection, but the sizes were whacked. Tony got me size large, and I bought him XXL. Hmmm… maybe they were children’s sizes.

Chile NYE Ritual #2: Wear yellow underwear!
This is what we bought.

Let’s pretend this is me wearing them.

(Ok, I really got that photo from the Daily Mail‘s article about NYE traditions around the world. Don’t worry, I will not post pictures of us in our yellow undies.)

We both stuffed our booties into our respective tiny underpants for the rest of the evening. Why? Some websites claimed the tradition was based on finding love on New Year’s Eve. Others said it was simply a way to garner good luck. There’s actually a website called The Underwear Expert, and it claims yellow underwear is meant to bring happiness and prosperity. Works for me.

Chile NYE Ritual #3: Take your luggage for a walk!
I was pretty psyched to hear about this one. Chile actually has a tradition that promotes travel. How cool is that? If you’re itching to hit the road and hope for an adventure or two in the coming year, you’re supposed to take an empty suitcase for a walk around the block. I’m so there.

Chile NYE Ritual #4: Put money in your shoe!
Legend has it that a luca note (1,000 Chilean pesos or $1.50) in your right shoe will multiply and bring wealth over the next year. I’m sure you’re meant to put the money in your shoe while you’re out partying and painting the town red, but our money and our shoes just sat there all night while we watched Netflix on the balcony. I hope the tradition still pays off.

Chile NYE Ritual #5: Eat 12 grapes!
Officially, you’re supposed to eat one grape for each stroke of the clock at midnight. The grapes represent the months in the coming year, and you make a wish as you eat each one. Obviously, I didn’t wait till midnight to gobble the grapes, but I did take my time and make a wish on each one. I couldn’t find any history behind this ritual, except that it started in Spain. Some websites claim that the flavor of your grape determines the sweetness or sourness of the corresponding month.

Tony doesn’t eat fruit, so he wished on 12 grape-flavored Skittles. He told me this morning his January wish already started coming true. “I wished I would have Skittles every day in January,” he said.

Chile NYE Ritual #6: Eat lentils!
I had to laugh at the supermarket when I realized all the lentil soup was sold out. I was not the only lazy NYE reveler. It was too late for me to buy lentils, soak them, and figure out how to cook them. Not my wheelhouse. Fortunately, I found a packet of instant lentils. My research uncovered various explanations for why lentils might bring luck and good fortune. Several websites claimed lentils look like coins and therefore symbolize money. Another noted the tradition emigrated from Europe, where people would eat a hearty lentil dish to stay warm in the harsh winter. Hardly necessary in sunny Santiago these days! But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

Chile NYE Ritual #7: Put a gold ring in your champagne glass!
Prosperity comes to those who drink their New Year’s toast with a gold ring in the glass of bubbly. We plonked our wedding rings (washed first, of course) into the flutes of cheap sparkling Moscato. Our toast came a few hours early, but I’m sure it had the same effect.

Fireworks and all-night dance parties didn’t make the cut for us this year. Also, a local tradition is to eat fish soup for lunch at the central market as a hangover remedy. I did finish off most of that aforementioned Moscato by myself, but I chose to skip the soup ritual. (“If I were hungover, the last thing I’d eat is fish soup,” Tony said. I must concur.)

After all that, the Dents are looking forward to a pretty fantastic 2017. Bring on the health, wealth, and happiness!

Feliz año nuevo, everyone! Any interesting NYE traditions in your home?

7 thoughts on “Going Chileno on New Year’s Eve (yellow underpants and all)”

  1. I love those yellow drawers! So festive. Do you think the man in the yellow hat wears them too?! **Cami Jean

  2. Hilarious!! Look like great traditions! But, why no picture of you guys in your fancy new underwear? Cowards 😄😄

  3. If you don’t eat the fish soup you can always go for Kokorec for a hangover. 😜

  4. LOL We thought about hitting the mall to find some of that magic underwear… We decided to take our chances with the white ones in 2017!!! See you in three weeks! 💓

  5. Although the model in the underwear looked JUST LIKE YOU, Sharon, I knew it wasn’t you because the underwear was missing the lace. Love, Sherlock.
    By the way, it seems that the only part of your apartment that you really need, at least in the summer, is the balcony.

  6. Thank you so much for your info and pictures. I am a high school and I am taking Spanish and I have to do a power point on Chile. So one of my topics was new years and i couldn’t find any really good pictures and info until i found your site.This really help me understand .This was so helpful and lost of good pictures thank you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *