Some Colombian New Year's Eve celebrants carry empty suitcases around the block to symbolize travel in the coming year.
The custom is a playful act of sympathetic symbolism: carrying luggage is meant to attract journeys, holidays, or new experiences. Participants may walk around the block shortly after midnight, although practices vary by family, city, and region. The suitcase does not need to contain clothes because its meaning comes from representing departure.
Colombian New Year customs also include eating twelve grapes, wearing certain colors, and making or burning Año Viejo figures. These practices can overlap with traditions elsewhere in Latin America, but the suitcase walk is especially associated with the wish to travel.
The tradition is sometimes described as “running with a suitcase,” but there is no single nationwide rule about speed, distance, or timing. The stable core is the empty suitcase carried around the block as a New Year’s travel wish.