Red is the traditional color commonly worn for New Year’s Eve in Italy to symbolize luck and love.
Italian New Year celebrations often include wearing red clothing or red underwear as a good-luck custom. The color is associated with vitality, passion, love, and protection from bad fortune. Some people choose a new red garment, while popular versions of the tradition particularly emphasize red underwear.
The custom is a folk practice rather than an official national ceremony, so it varies among families and regions. It is also frequently discussed alongside Italian New Year foods, including lentils, which are associated with prosperity because their shape resembles coins. Cotechino, a type of cooked pork sausage, is another traditional accompaniment in many celebrations.
Italy’s New Year’s Eve is called Capodanno, meaning “head of the year.” Public celebrations may include concerts, fireworks, and communal meals, but the red-clothing custom remains one of the most recognizable symbolic practices linked with the holiday.