Apparently nobody ate the grapes (as they should have), nor rubbed their hands with the sugar… They forgot to put the ring in the champagne glass and didn’t thrash the ‘Old Man’. So don’t complain if next year turns out to be no better than the last. Here’s Ñan’s (cabalistic) Checklist to change your fortunes in 2019…
‘El Viejo’, The Old Man: You have to fill it with stuff that you want to undo (that’s why you dress him up in old clothes) and when it’s burning, be sure to whack it, thwack it and chuck it about… and don’t forget to skip over it, to ensure that you banish all the bad vibes, bad luck (and evil eyes) from the coming year. Oh, and make sure the Viejo has a mask of a character that represents 2016: a sportsman or woman who made news; a personality that hit the headlines; a celebrity, an actor, perhaps a judge or politician who deserved to go up in flames with the year that passes…
The right foot: To comply with the saying ‘start the year on the right foot’, make sure you jump up and down dementedly on your right foot just as clock strikes midnight.
Bunch of bills: Count out the notes in your wallet when you hear the bells (do make sure you have something in it). Some have more luck with money stuffed in their shoe. And don’t forget to keep a dollar (which you can’t spend and have to hide during the whole year) to ensure that 2018 is truly bountiful.
The lit candle: As you hear the strokes of twelve o’clock, light the candle. Or the candles: because the blue ones are for peace and orange ones guarantee you’ll be on-the-ball throughout the year; the white ones are for blessings and the green ones for eternal youth and good health… The reds, of course, bring love.
Flick the switches: So that the decisions you make in 2017 are all lucid, turn on all the lights of the house… Every last one! Don’t miss any!
Good luck squats: Sit down and stand with each bell as the clock strikes midnight … you’ll be in shape the twelve months of the year!
The ring and the glass of champagne: Sure, there’s no end of the year celebration without champagne. Get a gold ring and put it in the glass. When the clock strikes twelve, you’ll be more than ready for a plentiful and lucrative 2017!
What to wear: New clothes to keep radiant (and to guarantee a full closet) and white clothes to receive the year with light, peace, love and a cleansed spirit.
Underwear: Yellow, red, white or in reverse: yellow for money, red for love, white for health and backwards so you don’t miss out on any of these (especially clothes!) … Some argue that if the underwear isn’t new or given away by another person, the cabal doesn’t work. No skimping!
The broom: Banish all the evil spirits from your house, by sweeping from your front door into the street at twelve o’clock (for better results, sweep away with water)…
Get on a chair: Because you want to get that promotion at work or because you want that raise you were hoping for, or because you want to achieve your goals, or because you want to win, finally, something: the lottery, bingo, a raffle … or maybe just want to win the respect and admiration of your boss … then, get up on a chair at twelve! You can climb down at 12:01.
Sugar is sweet: When the clock strikes twelve, put your hands in sugar, a sure-fire, guaranteed formula for making you rich in the coming year (even more so if you then clean them off with champagne afterwards!).
Lentils: Another way to get rich over the coming year is by filling your pockets with lentils (uncooked, hard ones). At twelve o’clock, scatter them wherever you walk until there are none left (you can also some put raw rice in one pocket and lentils in the other). Others say you have to eat lentils – cooked ones, this time around – at midnight for the trick to work.
The suitcase: Got itchy feet? Yearning for a big trip? Give this a go: walk round the block at the midnight hour with a suitcase (modern wheely ones are acceptable, apparently)!
The grapes: Make sure to eat twelve grapes, one for each month of the year, and with each make a wish (some say they must be said out loud with each bell toll at midnight, and that they must be six green and six red) so that 2017 will be one long sequence of blessings… and every month will be full of pleasant surprises.
Yes, if you decide to follow any of these instructions, your house is bound to be a little crazy this New Year… But we hope that your aunt will sprinkle the lentils and your uncle stuff his mouth full of grapes; your mother drag her suitcases round the block and your father find a jeweler for the rings; your grandmother light the candles and grandpa hop on one leg; that your sister count her money, that your brother jump up on the chair and you will photograph and film it all, and then share it in on social media with us (because, in this day and age, that surely also brings good luck!). Hashtag: #AñoNuevoÑan
