The Central American country of Costa Rica celebrates New Year on January 1. In and around the time of New Year, the natives of Costa Rica prefer to spend quality time with close friends and family.
People make most of the holiday time, and let themselves loose off to relax as well as party hard to celebrate the festive spirit of New Year.
However, spending time to party hard is less preferred, and most of the people rather choose to have private celebrations with only near and dear ones in attendance.
Some other prefer to have New year celebrations on the beautiful beaches of Costa Rica, which during the time of the New Year usually witnesses throngs of people and visitors from within the country as well as foreign land. It is the time of the year when natives of Costa Rica like to spend, travel, and celebrate. One would hardly find any vacant rooms in hotels and resorts around the time of New Year. Malls, clubs, and discotheques remain jam-packed with horde. However, one might not find them to be too occupied with the time getting closer to New Year, as everyone in Costa Rica prefers to spend that time in their houses with their close friends and family.
New Year Celebrations in Costa Rica
People in Costa Rica observes New Year as a time when they should look at what all their life have been through in the past, and what all they want it to be like in the coming time. It is considered to be a time of identifying and realizing past mistakes and sins; learning from them to ensure that they don’t get repeated; and drawing future goals for the coming time. While those belonging to a partly upper age bracket believes in concurring their celebrations according to customs and traditions to ensure everything go fine in the coming time of New year, people of young age look around for great party options. Usually, apart from getting along with friends at a popular party hub or discotheque, house parties are also organized by many.
Traditional New Year Celebrations in Costa Rica
There is an old and vastly followed New Year tradition of running twice around the house or crossing the neighborhood street with a suitcase or a backpack in the hand or on the back respectively. According to beliefs, doing so ensures travelling in the coming year, and those with any travelling aspirations never miss a chance to do it on December 31. There is another principally followed tradition of cleaning and sweeping the entire house by the women on December 31, as doing so is believed to sway away all the past evils. Another one calls for throwing a pan full of water over one’s shoulder, as doing is believed to sway away all the bad luck of the past year, and confers one with good luck in the coming year.
There are some amusing New Year traditions which are widely practiced among the natives of Costa Rica. One among them is wearing red underwear on New Year with a hope that the coming year will make them meet their spouse or true lover; and wearing yellow with a hope of getting conferred with good luck in the coming time. Eating twelve grapes at midnight, with each one dedicated to one month of the Old Year, and making wish with every grape is also a traditional way of bidding farewell to the past. The feast thrown on New Year’s Eve is necessarily and traditionally required to have pierna de cerdo (a leg of pork) as the main course served.
Termed as the Switzerland of America, Costa Rica offers whole world of options for those who wish to have a gala and unforgettable New Year time. Apart from its rich tradition, the scenic beauty lying in the rain forests, charismatic mountains, and exhilarating beaches of Costa Rica ensures one to have a good time there. With the time of New Year drawing close, once can evidently witness the rich tradition and customs followed by the people of Costa Rica, who believe in celebrating their time with immense fervor.