New Years Traditions in Puerto Rico

How do Puerto Ricans ring in the New Year? Hear about some of the traditions and let us know how YOU celebrate! 

¿Cómo reciben el Año Nuevo los puertorriqueños? ¡Conozca algunas de las tradiciones y díganos cómo lo celebra USTED!

https://www.elitorres.com/blog/holiday_traditions_in_puerto_rico_by_discover_puerto_rico/69235
https://www.topuertorico.org/culture/new-years-traditions.shtml
https://www.park-royalhotels.com/blog/ano-nuevo-en-puerto-rico.html
https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/puerto-rico/notas/tradiciones-de-ano-nuevo/
https://laprensafl.com/descubre-el-ano-nuevo-en-puerto-rico/puerto-rico/la-prensa-orlando/
https://www.heifer.org/blog/culture/holiday-horrors-and-truly-terrifying-traditions-from-around-the-globe-.html#:~:text=In%20Serbia%2C%20ghosts%20and%20demons,voices%20of%20friends%20and%20family. 

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Big thanks to Santos Cornier for composing our intro and outro music. Check out his music here: / Muchas gracias a Santos Cornier por componer nuestra música de intro and outro. Escuche su musica aqui:

https://www.reverbnation.com/santoscornier?fbclid=IwAR1_flS4Dy8i9t6JFhrCkzW220URLKJMVPfndmi0wl7idlA82ECx6Q-wW2Q

Thanks also to the following sites for music and sound effects:
https://freepd.com/
https://pixabay.com/
https://freesound.org/
https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/

Transcript

NANCY
Welcome to the BoricuameRican podcast, where we talk about all kinds of things related to Puerto Rico, from true crime to celebrities to personal stories and traditions! You can find us on Instagram at Boricuamerican underscore podcast, and on Facebook at Boricuamerican (we have a group and a Facebook page). I’m your host, Nancy Pinto, and I’m here with my husband and cohost, Chris.

CHRIS
Today we’re gonna talk about Puerto Rican traditions for New Years! They’re colorful and mostly centered around driving away evil spirits and attracting good luck! Superstitious or not, they sound fun (all except for one, you’ll see) and relatively harmless. 
NANCY
First up: 
***Clean the house! If you start the new year with a clean house, you’ll have a nice, neat year. If you live in a pig sty, your year will be a filthy mess.

CHRIS:
***Throw a bucket of water out the window. This violent act drives away evil spirits. It doesn’t have to be a huge bucket. An easier version of this is to just put a little water in a small pot, go outside, and when the clock strikes midnight turn so you’re facing the house, and toss the water backwards over a shoulder. This is to wash away all the bad things that happened, and make sure that those bad things stay behind you, meaning, stay in the past. Another water ritual is the “batalla de agua” which translates to “water battle.”  In this tradition, family members spray, hose down, sprinkle, baptize, whatever, each other in order to cleanse of all bad things that happened over the past year and start fresh and new. 

NANCY
***Sprinkle sugar outside your house for good luck and to start the new year on a “sweet” note. I read that this goes hand in hand with the bucket of water. But this doesn’t make sense as aren’t you just going to attract ants and other insects? Unless you do the sugar first and then wash it away with the water?  Don’t know.

CHRIS:
***Put a red ribbon up on your front door. We are unclear as to whether you’re supposed to tie one to the doorknob, or display it some other way on the door. But anyway, this wards off evil spirits and the curse of the evil eye.   

NANCY
***Go to the beach. It’s warm enough to do this in Puerto Rico! At the stroke of midnight, throw yourself into the water backwards. This is also to keep those pesky evil spirits away. You don’t have to go in deep. You do it as the waves are breaking.

CHRIS:
***Make noise with kitchenware! The noise drives away “bad vibes” – or is it evil spirits?! – and starts the new year off on a positive note. Like a “clearing the air” kind of thing but with noise.  
NANCY:
***Wear yellow undergarments! This is said to bring good fortune, happiness, and love in the new year. 

CHRIS: 
***Perform the suitcase ritual! This is said to bring about travel in the new year. At midnight, grab a suitcase and walk once around the block. If walking around outside isn’t an option, you can walk around your house. 
NANCY:
***Eat 12 grapes in 12 seconds, starting at the first stroke of midnight. You eat one grape each time the clock strikes. So yeah, that’s fast, you better have tiny grapes, not those huge, bulbous, seed-filled orbs.

CHRIS: 
***This one has become a tradition, but not everyone is crazy about it:  Fireworks. All over the island. But that’s also done around the world.

NANCY:
***This one is terrible. People also like to fire their guns into the air at midnight. You’ll start to hear PSAs on Puerto Rican radio and tv imploring the public to not do this because people have gotten hurt. 
CHRIS: 
But we will end on a good note: 
***Throw or attend a good old fashioned house party!  There should be traditional holiday food such as lechon, pasteles, arroz con gandules, arroz con dulce, and coquito. Some households also make bacalaitos (bah-kah-lah-ee-toes). These are codfish fritters and they are salty and freakin delicious.  Also, good music! Puerto Ricans love to break into singing and dancing, whether it’s aguinaldos (carols), salsa, merengue or even reggaeton. Fun for the whole family! Plus, if it gets too crowded inside, they’ll just spill out onto the porch, the marquesina, the terrace, wherever.  The beauty of the holidays in the tropics.  

NANCY:
So let us know if you decide to try one or more of these, or if we missed something, or what traditions YOU like to follow! These are generally known, but there’s no reason you can’t start your own traditions! HAPPY NEW YEAR!