New Year’s Eve at Caracola Beach and Spa Resort

New Year’s Eve is a worldwide celebration and carries many different traditions depending on your location. In Venezuela, it is custom to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your family and friends over a big feast, and usually, many champagne toasts are given.

Here is a list of traditions and customs celebrated in Venezuela.

1. At the start of the New Year, the people in Venezuela follow a custom of eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. This New Year’s Eve custom is believed to bring good luck for the coming year.

2. The people in Venezuela follow the custom of carrying a suitcase around the house for those who want to travel during the New Year.

3. Wearing yellow underwear is a custom that is followed by the people of Venezuela on New Year. This custom is believed to bring the people of Venezuela good luck in the year ahead.

4. Wearing red underwear is another custom that is followed and is believed to bring the people of Venezuela love for the year ahead.

5. Yet another New Year custom followed by the people of Venezuela for the New Year is the writing of letters asking for many wishes. In order to make sure that nobody can read what is written in these letters; the papers are all put together and burned when the New Year is approaching.

6. If someone is looking for money in the coming year, he or she must carry with them a high value bill on New Year’s Eve.

7. Another custom is to listen to radio specials which broadcast the countdown and announcement of the New Year and various musical traditions are followed through these special programs. Traditionally songs of sadness are broadcasted at the end of the year. Some of the popular songs are "Cinco pa' las 12" ("Five minutes before twelve") by singers like Nancy Ramos, Nestor Zavarce, and Jose Luis Rodríguez El Puma, and another song is "Viejo año" ("Old year") by Gaita group Maracaibo 15.

8. The song "Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva" ("New Year, New Life") by Billo's Caracas Boys is played in the first minutes of the New Year and has become the unofficial hymn.

These customs have ancient roots and most of the customs are still followed by the people in Venezuela on New Year’s Eve. The people in Venezuela regard New Years as an important celebration which will bring them the things they are looking for in the New Year.