New Year’s Eve in Merida

Picture this: you’re walking through the mall in late December and suddenly every store seems to have the same thing on display—shelves and shelves of red and yellow underwear. You can’t help but smile, because deep down you know exactly what’s going on.

It’s almost New Year’s Eve in Mexico… and things are about to get delightfully weird.

New Year’s, Mexican style, isn’t just about champagne and a countdown. It’s about superstition, symbolism, and doing a bunch of very specific (and sometimes ridiculous) things so that next year treats you better than this one did.

If you grew up with these traditions, you’ve probably almost choked on grapes at midnight, sprinted to the store in a panic because you “forgot your yellow underwear,” or marched around your living room with a suitcase while the neighbors pretended not to stare.

If you didn’t grow up with them, you’re about to get a crash course in how to welcome the New Year like a Mexican—in 100% second-person mode, so you can imagine yourself doing every single one.

1. You Start the Year by Speed-Eating Grapes

As the clock creeps towards midnight, you don’t just stand there and count down from ten. No. You grab twelve grapes, take a deep breath, and prepare for chaos.

The rule is simple:

You have 12 grapes.
You have 12 chimes of the clock (or 12 seconds if your family is dramatic).
With each grape, you make one wish for the upcoming year.

Each grape represents a month. A sweet grape? That month is supposed to be good. A sour, bitter grape? Welp… maybe brace yourself for some challenges.

Of course, in practice, this is what really happens:

The first grape goes down fine. By the third, you’re wishing for health, money, love, and maybe a new car. By the seventh, you’re chewing too slowly, the clock is not slowing down with you, your family is yelling, and suddenly you’re trying not to choke while still whispering wishes in your head.

But you keep going, because you know that if you stop at grape number nine, somehow March or April will feel “unfinished” all year.

2. You Let Your Underwear Decide Your Future

Once the grapes are done, you move on to another crucial ritual: what’s under your clothes.

On New Year’s in Mexico, your underwear isn’t just underwear; it’s strategy.

You pick your color like you’re choosing a power-up:

Red – You want passion and love. Maybe a serious relationship, maybe just more romance in your life.
Yellow – You’re aiming for money, prosperity, and opportunities. (Let’s be honest, there comes a point in life where you start caring more about yellow than red.)
Green – You’re focused on health and well-being.
Pink – You want stronger friendships, affection, and social harmony.
White – You’re looking for peace, hope, and spiritual calm.

And there’s one rule: never wear black. Black is for funerals, not for fresh starts.

Some years, you might even get creative and try to combine outcomes. You might secretly wear red and yellow at the same time, hoping to manifest both love and money, and pretending it’s not uncomfortable. You might laugh at yourself—yet you still do it, because… what if it works?

3. You Clean Like Your Future Depends on It

New Year’s Eve isn’t just about getting dressed up. It’s also about clearing out old energy, and you do that quite literally.

You clean your house as if your luck is hiding behind the dust:

You sweep from the inside out, pushing the dirt—and symbolically, the bad vibes—toward the door.
You might mop with cinnamon water (as if you were making cinnamon tea). Cinnamon is believed to attract abundance and sweeten your environment.
You take a bath, or even wash your pet, so everyone starts the year “clean.”
You may also light incense before midnight to purify the space and raise the vibe.

By the time you’re done, your house smells like cinnamon and incense, and you feel like you’ve scrubbed away the psychological dust of the past year too.

4. You Walk Around With Empty Suitcases Like It’s Totally Normal

If travel is on your vision board, this is where things get fun.

At midnight, you grab an empty suitcase—or several if your whole family is on board—and you:

Either walk around the block with your suitcase, as if you were leaving for the airport at 12:01 a.m.,
Or you place the suitcases in the middle of a room and walk around them several times.

Is it logical? Not really. Is it hilarious? Absolutely. But you still do it, because deep down you love the idea that somewhere, somehow, the universe might see you with your suitcase and say, “All right, let’s send this one somewhere new.”

5. You Literally Open the Door to the New Year

There’s something very poetic about this next part.

At midnight, you open the front door to “let out” the old year and welcome the new one. Sometimes you symbolically “push” the old year out, almost like you’re shooing away an unwanted guest.

You might also:

Throw 12 coins (or cents) on the ground at midnight and then pick them up and bring them into your home for prosperity.
Enjoy fireworks not just for fun, but as a way to “scare off evil spirits” so that the new year can enter without obstacles.

The combination of open doors, flying coins, and exploding fireworks makes midnight feel like a ritual more than just a moment on the clock.

Why You Keep Doing All This (Even If You Don’t Fully Believe It)

Here’s the thing: maybe you don’t truly believe that grapes can predict your year, or that your underwear color will attract your soulmate. Maybe you know, logically, that walking around with a suitcase isn’t what gets you on a plane.

But you still do it.

You do it because:

It connects you to your culture and your family.
It gives you a sense of control and hope at the edge of the unknown.
It turns New Year’s Eve into a playful, shared ritual instead of just another party.

You’re not just welcoming the new year; you’re participating in it. You’re saying, “I’m here. I’m ready. I’m making space for something better.”

Bringing These Traditions Into Your Own New Year

Whether you’re in Mexico or living abroad, you can still bring these traditions into your life:

Stock up on grapes and try the 12-wishes challenge.
Choose your underwear color intentionally (even if no one else knows).
Give your home a good clean and mop with cinnamon water, just to feel that shift.
Grab a suitcase and go for that midnight walk, even if your neighbors stare.
Open your door at midnight and imagine all the heavy energy of the past year leaving your life.

In the end, you use these traditions as little reminders that the future isn’t just something that happens to you. It’s something you walk toward—sometimes with a mouth full of grapes, a suitcase in hand, and bright yellow underwear no one can see.

And honestly? That’s a pretty great way to start a new year. On behalf of the entire Merida Moves team, we wish you happy holidays.