Are all your New Year’s Eves identical? Propose your last toast of the year in a different location. How about Central America? In any of your countries you can experience magical moments by being a participant in their traditions. Choose between these alternatives that I offer you and receive the New Year in the most exotic way!
Indigenous dances, candles and scrambled eggs to observe the future
1. Guatemala
Guatemalan Christmas smells like punch and tamales. Of course, turkey is the star on the table on December 31, the night when the twelve grapes are prepared to eat at each chime. If you are superstitious, I invite you to sign up to the customs of the most credulous of rites: place your suitcases at the entrance or sweep it. Luck is on your side!
2. Belize
Dive in Ambergris Caye, the most extensive island in the country, while bathed in sunlight, seems a dazzling plan if you want to get away from the madding crowd. However, I recommend imbuing yourself in the most Christmassy spirit of the country. Its inhabitants are also up for the grapes and fireworks, but they dance, too. It’s time for you to learn the Cha-Ri-Ka-Na-Ri, an iconic Garifuna dance! What do you need? A cow mask and to not be embarrassed by anything.
3. Honduras
To the aforementioned grapes and red underwear to attract good luck, Hondurans add candles. They spread colourful candles around the house and light them at night. Each tone invokes a fortune. Are you looking for professional success? Light a blue candle. Do you want to consolidate your relationship? I’ll reveal the mystery: choose the yellow one. The bucolic and romantic atmosphere is assured.
4. El Salvador
Breads with chicken and sauce, hugs and rockets when the clock strikes twelve are all there. Some Salvadorans break an egg into a glass with water and decipher their future in the resulting silhouette. I invite you to try this formula. And, if you don’t fancy it, you’ll always have the grapes …
Bullfights, burning of dolls and music on the beach
5. Nicaragua
“It’s five minutes to midnight, the year’s going to end …”. Learn this song and sing it while you dance and listen to gunpowder in the background. Jump on the fine sands of beaches like Hermosa, El Coco, Gigante or Popoyo. Undoubtedly, in Nicaragua New Year’s Eve is on the street!
6. Costa Rica
Try turkey and tamales and go to popular festivities like those on the Zapote field. Here bullfights are held without sacrificing it. In addition, you can enjoy mechanical games and lose your voice at concerts that brighten the celebration. Indeed, at New Year you will not have a voice, but an unforgettable experience in your backpack. Do you want to miss it?
7. Panamá
Have you tried the chicha de saril? This tropical fruit makes up family dinners in Panamanian houses. Get to know its flavor and that of the ham, which is also a standard at these meetings, to which people wear new yellow garments on back-to-front. Beforehand, the owners of the residences clean them with essences and put out incense to receive the new year. We cannot forget the burning of rag dolls to bury them in oblivion. Some represent characters from society!
Have you already decided where to spend your end of year? The attractiveness of these countries will leave you wanting more. To satisfy your cravings, I invite you to check out on our website other traditional festivals of Guatemala or El Salvador, or culinary trails by Belize and Honduras. Don’t turn your back on this universe of pleasure and fun! Happy New Year!
