A Country-by-Country Guide to Central America New Year Traditions

In this article we look at Central America New Year traditions, from Belize’s broom jumping to Panama’s Año Viejo burning. A guide to celebrations in all seven countries.

As December ends, Central America’s seven countries prepare for one of their biggest celebrations of the year. Each country welcomes January 1st with a distinctive mix of old and new traditions, from family gatherings to midnight rituals.

Throughout the region, families share customs passed through generations. Some traditions, like burning effigies of the old year or eating twelve grapes at midnight, appear across Central America with local variations. Others remain unique to individual nations, shaped by their individual cultural heritage.

This country-by-country guide looks at how Central America rings in the new year. IF you’re planning to visit the region during the holiday season or simply interested in international New Year’s traditions, here’s what you need to know about New Year’s Eve in Central America.

New Year in Belize

In Belize, New Year’s Eve reflects the country’s multicultural heritage, with traditions drawn from various ethnic backgrounds. Families typically gather for dinner featuring traditional dishes like turkey and relleno (a spiced meat soup). As midnight approaches, many communities head to seaside parks for firework displays, while others celebrate at home with their own pyrotechnics.

A distinctive Belizean tradition involves jumping over a broom at midnight, symbolizing a fresh start for the coming year. Some residents practice the ritual of sweeping away bad romance, while others adopt customs from the country’s different cultural groups – like wearing red underwear following Mestizo tradition, or counting out twelve grapes at midnight, a practice shared with neighboring countries.

New Year’s Day continues the festive spirit with recreational activities across the country. Popular events include horse racing in Burrel Boom and the annual KREM New Year’s Day Cycling Classic, which runs from Corozal to Belize City.

New Year in Costa Rica

Costa Rica celebrates New Year’s Eve primarily as a family holiday, with dinners featuring traditional dishes like pierna de cerdo (pork leg) and tamales. The celebration centers on several distinct rituals believed to bring good fortune in the coming year.

At midnight, Costa Ricans often eat twelve grapes, making a wish for each month of the coming year. Other popular traditions include holding money in the left hand at midnight for prosperity, running around the block with a suitcase to ensure travel opportunities, and wearing specific colors for luck – yellow is particularly popular. Some families sweep their homes before midnight to clear out negative energy, while others wash their doorsteps to welcome fresh beginnings. Many families maintain their own variations of these customs, but fireworks and family gatherings remain constant throughout the country.

It’s worth noting that many Ticos celebrate New Years at the beach, having left the Central Valley on December 25th or 26th for the coast. This has become such a popular tradition that special traffic measures are implemented on major beach routes. Depending on what day of the week New Year falls, January 1st, 2nd, or 3rd sees heavy traffic on the routes back to San José.

New Year in El Salvador

El Salvador‘s New Year traditions combine Catholic observance with unique folk customs. One distinctive tradition involves cracking an egg into a glass of water and leaving it by an open window overnight. The next morning’s egg white shape is believed to predict what will bring good fortune in the coming year.

Families gather for traditional meals featuring tamales and panes con pavo (turkey sandwiches). Many attend mass before joining celebrations that continue into the early hours. Like elsewhere in Central America, fireworks light up the sky at midnight, though El Salvador adds its own touch with the burning of “Año Viejo” effigies – dolls made from old clothes and stuffed with fireworks that symbolize leaving the past year’s misfortunes behind.

Some Salvadorans wear their undergarments inside out during the final hours of December 31st, turning them right-side-out after midnight to ensure a year of new clothing. Others choose red underwear for love or yellow for prosperity, mixing practical celebration with hopeful symbolism.

New Year in Guatemala

Guatemalans celebrate New Year with a mix of colonial Spanish traditions and indigenous Maya customs. Throughout the country, families gather for traditional meals and festivities that often blend religious observance with cultural celebration. A significant tradition is the Baile de Moros y Cristianos (Dance of the Moors and Christians), which can be seen in various towns and cities across Guatemala.

Family rituals believed to bring good fortune play a central role in Guatemalan New Year celebrations. Many wear yellow underwear inside out until midnight for prosperity, or red for love. Some place coins in their right shoe for financial success, while others climb onto chairs at midnight and jump off with their right foot first for luck. A unique tradition involves crouching under the table at midnight to find love in the coming year.

Food brings families together during the celebration, with special black tamales made with chocolate being a New Year’s Eve favorite throughout Guatemala. The night culminates with firework displays in cities, towns, and villages across the country, with celebrations continuing well past midnight.

New Year in Honduras

Honduras welcomes the new year with a blend of family gatherings and community celebrations. Like several countries in the region, Hondurans create and burn “Año Viejo” effigies at midnight, though here they often take on added significance. Communities stuff these dolls with fireworks and design them to resemble public figures who’ve drawn criticism during the year, making the midnight burning a symbolic way to leave behind the year’s frustrations.

The city of Comayagua hosts one of the country’s most famous celebrations, centered around the oldest functioning clock in the Americas. Located in the Comayagua Cathedral and dating to the 12th century, this Moorish timepiece, gifted by King Philip III of Spain, draws crowds waiting to hear its twelve chimes at midnight. The event has become so significant that it’s broadcast across the nation.

Throughout Honduras, families gather for traditional meals and celebrations that continue into the early hours complete with the obligatory fireworks that light up the sky at midnight.

New Year in Nicaragua

Nicaragua has distinctive traditions for farewelling the old year and welcoming the new. The burning of “El Viejo” or “La Vieja” takes center stage – effigies dressed in old clothing are filled with fireworks and burned at midnight. These dolls often hold a cigarette or cigar in one hand and a bottle of guaro (local moonshine) in the other, representing the vices of the departing year.

Many Nicaraguan families gather for a late dinner, serving traditional dishes like nacatamales, arroz a la Valenciana, and relleno navideño (a stuffing made with meat, capers, olives, and nuts). Some families maintain the common Central American practice of sweeping their homes at midnight to remove negative energy, while others sprinkle cinnamon around the house to ensure peace in the coming year.

Like other Central American nations, Nicaragua’s celebrations include fireworks, but the country adds its own touch with the tradition of hopping three times on the right foot at midnight for good luck.

New Year in Panama

Panama’s New Year traditions include the creation and burning of “Año Viejo” or “Judas” dolls, life-sized effigies displayed along roads and in front of houses. These dolls often represent politicians or celebrities and are stuffed with fireworks before being burned at midnight, symbolizing the end of the old year’s troubles.

Panamanians practice several rituals believed to ensure good fortune. Many eat twelve grapes at midnight, making wishes for each month while saving the seeds to determine lucky lottery numbers. Some walk around their neighborhood with a suitcase to attract travel opportunities, while others place oranges and tangerines behind doors to ensure abundance. The tradition of wearing specific colors remains strong – red for love and yellow for good luck.

On January 1st, many Panamanians head to the ocean, believing that diving backwards into the sea and emerging forward helps wash away the previous year’s bad luck. Throughout the country, families gather for traditional meals and celebrate with fireworks displays that light up the night sky.

Happy New Year Central America!

As you can see, while each Central American country maintains its unique customs, several threads connect their New Year celebrations. The burning of effigies, wearing specific colors for luck, and midnight rituals showcase the region’s shared cultural heritage. These traditions paint a picture of societies that value both family gatherings and community celebration, blending ancient customs with modern festivities. No matter if you’re traveling or living in Central America, or reading this from elsewhere, we wish you a wonderful 2025!

James Dyde is the editor of centralamerica.com. He lives in Escazú, Costa Rica.