In Colombia's New Year's Eve traditions, what color of clothing is commonly worn to attract prosperity?

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In Colombia's New Year's Eve traditions, yellow clothing is commonly worn to attract prosperity.

Wearing yellow, especially yellow underwear, is a popular New Year's custom in Colombia and several other Latin American countries. The color is associated with luck, happiness, abundance, and financial prosperity. Some people wear the item inside out before midnight and turn it correctly afterward, although practices vary by family and region.

Colombian New Year's celebrations also include other symbolic rituals. People may carry an empty suitcase around the block to invite travel, eat grapes at midnight, or burn an Año Viejo effigy representing the departing year. These customs are not universal requirements; they are festive practices that differ among households.

Yellow clothing should not be confused with Colombia's national flag colors as the sole explanation for the tradition. The New Year's symbolism is primarily connected with prosperity and good fortune.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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