Is this really a "thing" in Colombia?

[DesmondID]

So my wife tells me this morning that she has to have new underwear and it has to be yellow.. and that I need to get a pair of yellow underwear.. When I ask why she tells me that it is a tradition to bring in the new year wearing new yellow underwear. I decided not to question the validity of the claim as underwear is cheap and I've never actually seen yellow underwear for men anyway..

We went to several stores for the yellow underwear hunt.. As I expected they are not a popular item which actually seemed to surprise her as she said in Colombia the stores would have plenty in stock for the new year.

I gave up on the small stores and we went to Kohl's. I was hoping to avoid the large stores as they are all having the post-Christmas sales. Within a few minutes she found the one pair of yellow underwear. To my surprise I also found a pair of yellow men's underwear. I neglected to tell her about the men's underwear as they were 24 dollars and I was not going to spend 24 dollars on boxers I would wear one time...

I tried to guide us out through the children's section to avoid the sales but Kohl's is designed much like a Casino: You are not getting out without running a gauntlet of items they want for you to see.. All those signs with the floating "80% off! 70%off! 60% off!" proved to be too much. I was walking fast and holding her hand and trying to keep her talking but soon enough I felt the tug from her hand as she stopped walking.. I looked back and she was frowning with her head turned and looking at what appeared to be a half-acre of heavily discounted clothing.  I sighed and let her hand go and off she went..

I ended up saving a lot of money according to the receipt. When I got to the counter there was lots of happy people (I think I was the only male in the store but lets say people). I was asked if I wanted a Kohl's card for an additional 20% off today and 35% off my next purchase as well.. I was about to say no when the woman behind me said "Of course he does!" and then proceeded to have a conversation with my non-english speaking wife about the virtues of having a Kohl's card. After about 45 seconds of the woman talking non-stop my wife turned to me and said (in English) "of course he does!". We have a Kohl's card now. The woman never did figure out that my wife does not speak English.

The visit was not a total loss.. I was able to steer the goals of getting clothes for our vacation in February in a much warmer climate... She found shorts marked from 40 dollars to two dollars (amazing the bargains on summer stuff when it is below freezing) that she wanted even before she knew they were discounted. The rest of the clothes were anywhere from 60-80% off..

Sorry back to my original question: Is it really a tradition in Colombia to wear new yellow underwear to bring in the new year?

[OrlandoGringo]

I don't know but get yourself some spongebob undies and you'll be set!
 
My ex's family used to take an empty suitcase and put some money in it and then run around their house right after midnight.  It's supposed to be bring good luck in the way of money and travel.

[robert angel]

Don't feel bad, my Filipina wife wanted me to go to the grocery store to get a variety of round fruits for the New Year--13 round fruits in total, as it is supposed to bring good luck for the new year~......


So I  got em--pomegranate, guava, various citrus fruits, apples and more. We still haven't finished eating leftovers from Christmas and last night, she baked five different dishes--a cake, cookies, a pie,  browni's, some odd sort of cupcakes with cheese on top of them (tasty though)  and more. Most of it used brown rice flour and raw sugar, along with eggs, fast rising yeast and more.

And as of yet, we're not expecting any company, even!
Anybody want a few pounds of Honey Baked Ham?
 
Update--never say 'We're not expecting company on New Year's Eve"! No sooner did I post the above, than we started getting some calls.....

[whitey]

Sorry back to my original question: Is it really a tradition in Colombia to wear new yellow underwear to bring in the new year?

According to my wifey - yes.

[Jeff S]

Are you permitted to turn your white underwear yellow?

[z_k_g]

Are you permitted to turn your white underwear yellow?

Jeff,

Its not only permitted but expected when you reach a certain age.

And your grey matter also turns yellow and most of your ideas, albeit involuntarily.

Zulu

[DesmondID]

According to my wifey - yes.

Thank you Whitey (and others) for the comments. She kept on laughing when I said "verdad?" so I was not sure if she was playing me. I tried telling her that the tradition here is to play xbox360 all day while she made empanadas but she called that bluff.

[michaelb]

Yellow underwear on New Year - Yes, it is come to think of it, I had forgotten. Oh well, I don't have any black eye peas either.

[Ray]

 
That's funny about the Khol's card.
 
My wife has a Khol's card and she usually gets at least 20% off her entire purchase if she uses the card to pay for it.
 
So what she does is charge the purchase on her card to get the discount and then before she leaves the checkout counter, she asks the sales girl to pay off her account balance with cash.
 
That way she never gets a bill in the mail and never pays any interest.
 
Like yours, she also has to check out every item on those discount racks but if it's not marked at least 60% off, she usually skips it.   
 
 
Tip of the day: If you wear white underwear to go out drinking on New Year's Eve, they'll probably be mostly yellow by midnight anyway.
 
 
Ray
 
 

[Ray]

Don't feel bad, my Filipina wife wanted me to go to the grocery store to get a variety of round fruits for the New Year--13 round fruits in total, as it is supposed to bring good luck for the new year~......

 
Don't feel bad Robert. I had to buy 7 of each round fruit in the store. Different province I guess...? It's a good thing that watermellons aren't quite round!
 
And don't forget the blackeyed peas!
 
 
Ray
 

[beginthebeguin]

My costena friend also mentioned something about "las 12 uvas en la mesa" the twelve grapes on the table for New Years Day. Never heard of that one. Anybody else? 

[DesmondID]

My costena friend also mentioned something about "las 12 uvas en la mesa" the twelve grapes on the table for New Years Day. Never heard of that one. Anybody else?

heh! There are grapes out on the table which she has never done before. She's been acting strange all day so I didn't think to ask.. I also just noticed that the underwear is inside-out, she said "si! es importante!"... ok!

She spent several hour making "empanadas antioqueñas con encurtido" and she put back quite a few beers (well.. hard ciders) while making them... Later on I was in the shower while she was doing something to her hair in the bathroom.. anyway she walked back into the closet and put on some high-heel shoes and was making cooing sounds.. She walked out wearing this low cut shirt and did a twirl and yelled "tu mujer es espectacular!" and then she sauntered off with that exaggerated Latina hip movement. I think she would have done it if I was not there - she seemed to be talking to herself. I was laughing so hard I had a coughing fit in the shower.

[Kiltboy1]

Not just Colombia, LA in general. We were at Kohl's yesterday and my wife picked up Yellow panties to wear for luck. Hey, we got all kinds of Shaman candles and such going in our house all the time. Been a great year, so I will not knock how it got here.
 
KB

[DesmondID]

Not just Colombia, LA in general. We were at Kohl's yesterday and my wife picked up Yellow panties to wear for luck. Hey, we got all kinds of Shaman candles and such going in our house all the time. Been a great year, so I will not knock how it got here.
 

Maybe that's why we were not finding any - just went out too late and the other locals from LA snagged them up prior to us making the rounds...

She normally keeps three candles going in her back room but she added five new candles yesterday spread throughout the house - all of them scented and different scents. One of them she lit at midnight and walked though every room and closet in the house - even the storage room of the attic which up until now she has been afraid to enter (no lights and hanging insulation for walls). That candle evidently has to stay lit until it goes out on its own in 24 hours or so...

[robert angel]

heh! There are grapes out on the table which she has never done before. She's been acting strange all day so I didn't think to ask.. I also just noticed that the underwear is inside-out, she said "si! es importante!"... ok!

She spent several hour making "empanadas antioqueñas con encurtido" and she put back quite a few beers (well.. hard ciders) while making them... Later on I was in the shower while she was doing something to her hair in the bathroom.. anyway she walked back into the closet and put on some high-heel shoes and was making cooing sounds.. She walked out wearing this low cut shirt and did a twirl and yelled "tu mujer es espectacular!" and then she sauntered off with that exaggerated Latina hip movement. I think she would have done it if I was not there - she seemed to be talking to herself. I was laughing so hard I had a coughing fit in the shower.

Sounds  intriguing! Perhaps our household could use a little 'cross cultural' transplantation! I think my wife has finished a whole 12 ounce bottle of beer twice in her life and even if she though a wine tasted great to her--she's never finished a whole glass.  In the home, "she can dress to please"- (I'll say no more--or mention nothing less) and needs no alcohol to be romantic--amorous. Nevermind--- I think in regards to the above scenario Desmond decribed, even baby Bart said it better (and faster) than I ever could!
 
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=you+tube%2c+bart+simpson%2c+Ay%2c+caramba!&mid=DB6D39EAE2225961D64DDB6D39EAE2225961D64D&view=detail&FORM=VIRE1
 
PS--Some of the links on the side in Spanish/Portguese are funny too--even if I didn't undertand half of it. You want to fall out of your seat laughing? Watch the Three Stooges (with the orginal Curly) in Spanish. Their voices are the same, except they're speaking Spanish and it really actually needs no sound, but the Spanish adds hilarity, I think...
 
Some of those babes don't look too bad, even by today's fashion 'standards'!
 
http://www.vxv.com/video/M6qPNVbveHcG/los-tres-chiflados-el-mundo-es-violento-para-curly-1.html

 

[robert angel]

I know this is the 'Latin Side'--but hey, we're talking about new and different (to us) New Years things, so why not?
 
 I didn't recall this New Year's 'observation', but last night, at midnight, my wife told me to take a few coins and put them in my pocket, along with a few in her pocket book, and make sure they make at least a little 'jingly noise', for good luck for the coming year.

 
I don't think I'll ever stop finding curious new (to me anyway) ways in which Filipinos observe and celebrate things. As Ray alluded to, I do think there are similarities and variances within the same general cultural practices from province to province over there.

 
I bet they're different across Latin America too, but wherever I've been around the world, there always seem to be at least a couple customs, ways-- superstitions if you will, that we all seem to share.
 

Personally, I'm not superstitious. I'm too smart for that--I know that it's bad luck to be superstitious! If you dare to disagree, remember, "I'm rubber, you're glue, whatever you say, sticks to you!" (and always end that with -- "no back talk"!)

 
For example, in most places I've been, especially among the older, more 'country' folks, they don't like to cut the baby's hair until the first year's past.

[aconcepts]

We do the grape thing here in CR and also put a purple flower in the wallet. Ha! Crazy Latinas/o. Gotta love em or live white... naw...
 
So many cannon bombas and fireworks last night. I have never seen the valley with so many firework displays from Coronado to Santa Ana from Alajuelita to Heredia the horizon was bursting for about half an hour. Never been so many for so long.

[Gato4Astrid]

I don't know but get yourself some spongebob undies and you'll be set!
 
My ex's family used to take an empty suitcase and put some money in it and then run around their house right after midnight.  It's supposed to be bring good luck in the way of money and travel.

My girlfriend did that last night - but not "empty".  She put some of the things I gave her

[Gato4Astrid]

So my wife tells me this morning that she has to have new underwear and it has to be yellow..

Your private part won't get any bigger lol   I don't really understand this superstitions lol


The shop earned $24 extra when you bought it ..... Good fortune for THEM actually lol

[Gavan]

Not just Colombia, LA in general. We were at Kohl's yesterday and my wife picked up Yellow panties to wear for luck. Hey, we got all kinds of Shaman candles and such going in our house all the time. Been a great year, so I will not knock how it got here.
 
KB

True, the same traditions exist here in Peru as well: wearing yellow underwear, eating 12 grapes under a table while making a wish for each grape you eat, putting lentils in your pockets, putting limes in all corners of the house and walking around with a suitcase. Pretty crazy and I had never heard of any of these before I came to Peru.

[beginthebeguin]

I don't know about the efficacy of those superstitions but it all sounds like  ingredients for a great new years meal if you conbine the local traditions here here as well. Lets's see now:
A big pitcher of Sangria with all the left over round fruit cut up and in the pitcher.
Table grapes (eaten over or under the table, doesn't matter)
Lentil soup.
Roast pork and sourkraut and patas.
Hey guys what about dessert?

[michaelb]

No yellow panties in Argentina nor Mexico. Or at least if there are, they are not used for a new year tradition. I encountered an Argentine and a Mexican that I know yesterday and asked them.

[V_Man]

The yellow under wear thing sounds like an excellent tradition. I'm gonna check on that one. I wonder if there is a baby boom every September?

[V_Man]

OK my novia denied this tradition. Perhaps it is not that widespread?