Monthly Newsletter - December 2008

Some 600 years ago, the Incas celebrated the New Year on the 21^st of June, during the winter solstice, and it had a very important religious significance. The winter solstice was the moment the sun was furthest away from the earth and the Incans feared it would not return and thereby deprive people from the benefits of warmth and sunlight. So that the sun would rise again, the Incas and their high priests performed special ceremonies in their holy temple. Once the sun rose again, royalty and common people celebrated together for the return of the sun and acknowledged it as the beginning of a new year.

While much has changed since the days of the Incan Empire, looking at New Year customs of Cuzco shows that there are still important traditions associated with this holiday today. Some old and some new, these traditions have been acquired throughout the years. From those hailing from the Spanish conquest to the modern customs stemming from Peru’s growing tourism, these traditions are all an integral part of celebrating the New Year in Cuzco:

• Peruvian families celebrate New Year’s Eve with a tasty and rich dinner. The importance of having a sumptuous dinner lies in the belief that the quality and quantity of the food in the house at midnight should be reflected in the quality and quantity of food of the next year.
• The most traditional dish at New Year’s Eve is turkey. While there are those who replace it with pork, as they say it is more delicious, most Peruvians avoid pork around New Year’s due to the belief that pigs are unclean animals who look down to the ground. This New Year is seen as a way to look towards a positive future. Like during Christmas, Panetone (the traditional Italian fruitcake) and hot chocolate can always to be found on the table during New Year’s Eve dinner.
• The center of the table where the whole family gathers should be adorned with wheat corn branches and yellow flowers. This symbolizes wealth and food for the household in for the next year.
• Some people stay to celebrate New Year’s Eve with family and others choose to leave home and spend this special night with friends in discos or even out on the streets partying.
• Even the ones that will party all night long outside their homes will probably want to see the stroke of midnight at home. This is because they would like to throw some rice mixed with confetti in front of their homes to lure in luck and money for the upcoming year.
• Almost everybody who leaves home directs themselves to the main square of Cuzco, where they welcome the New Year with champagne and fireworks.
• Most religious people enter the cathedral to listen to the mass before 12 o’clock. They pray for prosperity and health for next year.
• Running three times around the main square should guarantee you the same prosperity and health mentioned above, but there is more to it. In order to secure travel for the new year, carry a suitcase while you circle the main square. If you want to study and travel, add books to your suitcase. If you want to find a job abroad, put your university certificate in the suitcase. A new tradition that promises prosperity and good luck, allows visitors to see young men running around the main square with yellow underwear over their pants.
• A Spanish tradition which continues in most South American countries on New Year´s Eve and Cuzco is the swallowing of 12 white grapes before midnight, as you hear each of the 12 church bells, (you have about 3 seconds for each grape)! Each grape represents a month of the year and for swallowing all 12 grapes as the bells chime you guarantee yourself a successful year ahead. You may make a wish for each month of the year.

• Choosing the color of your underwear significantly influence the upcoming year: most people choose yellow underwear for the New Year’s Eve as it is said to bring prosperity and wealth. Those interested in romance should wear red underwear to attract love. Some people wear green underwear so that the upcoming year brings them cash. In the last couple of years you can even buy underwear with the dollar sign on it in order to make the request more obvious.
• In order to make the money stay with you all year long, you place some of them in your shoes for the night of the 31st. This symbolizes starting the year started with money and hoping that money will never leave you during the following year.
• To make your home prosperous and to ensure wealth and happiness for your whole family, there are a few key items that you need to place in each of the four corners of your house: rice, corn, wheat & lentils. Apartment dwellers should place these cereals in the most representative corners of it. Corn is always associated with money (its yellow color symbolizes gold) and wheat represents the food that should never be missing in any household. Lentils and rice emphasize prosperity, work security and professional opportunities.
• There is one more thing you need to place in your house in order to protect your family from evil energies surrounding your home for the year to come: a yellow lime! Put one in each corner of your home. Limes are regarded as absorbents of bad energy. You can learn more about the energies by looking at the way the limes in the corners have dried. If the limes conserve their original color, you are at safe. If they change color and darken, it could be possible that some inauspicious energy might cause trouble during the year; however, the lime has worked to prevent any potential ills.
• The next morning all family gathers around the house and have “galdo de gallina,” a traditional Peruvian soup which should ease the transition of an amazing party night back to the real life.
  

By
Cristina Daus

If you want to experience some of these traditions on your own, in Cuzco, we would be more than happy to organize your stay with us during this time of the year. If you would like more information about this article please contact our Cuzco manager Cristina at: cristina@peruforless.com

Sources:

Infoplease
Qoyllur
http://anime0.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!A247971349BD0143!4522.entry
Wikipedia

PAST NEWSLETTERS:

• Newsletter November 2008
• Newsletter October 2008
• Newsletter September 2008
• Newsletter August 2008
• Newsletter July 2008
• Newsletter June 2008
• Newsletter May 2008
• Newsletter April 2008
• Newsletter February 2008
• Newsletter January 2008