New Years in Peru

The New Year is a huge celebration all around the world, and Peru is no different! New Year’s is often largely associated with drinking and having lots of fun with your friends, however, there are a number of rich customs associated with New Years in Peru that are intended to bring good luck. In Peru people are generally more connected with the spiritual, the mystic and the superstitious than people are in the west… and they do believe in miracles!

New Years in Cusco

Cusqueño families have a wide range of customs to celebrate New Years in Peru, and each family has their own tradition. Many families celebrate the New Year together by having lunch and then the young people will go out with their friends. There isn’t a specific food associated with New Year’s but turkey, chicken and guinea pig are common, as are drinks such as hot chocolate, pisco sour and beer.

Many bars and clubs organize special New Year’s Eve parties, but the place to be is in Cusco’s Plaza de Armas. At about 11:30pm, locals begin to gather in order to run around the Plaza as the clock strikes 12!

>> Want to go? Ask us about our Christmas in Peru Packages. We also have specially designed New Years in Peru Packages.

• Eating of grapes as the clock strikes 12 is also a popular way of bringing luck, one grape for each of the 12 upcoming months.
• People also participate in a tradition known as the baño de flores, or a bath of flowers. Depending on what they are wishing for, they fill a basin with water and flowers of a certain color (roses for love, for example) and will bathe using this combination of water and flowers. At midnight, they put beans into their pockets, and whilst doing so, they wish for money.
• A classic custom is to place three potatoes under your chair or sofa: one peeled, one partially peeled and one unpeeled. At 12 o’clock you need to choose, without looking, one of these potatoes and it will forecast what type of financial year you will have. The potato with no skin means no money, partially skinned means a regular year, and a potato with a full skin means lots of money!
• In a similar vein, if you throw 10 cents over your shoulder it represents throwing out the poverty of the previous year, and therefore bringing auspiciousness. Other people distribute rice around the house, which is intended to bring money and luck.