Happy New Year!

New Year’s is a fun night for my husband and me, not just because we ring in a new year together, but because we share some traditions that we both have grown up with our entire lives. Juan grew up in Ecuador and I grew up in Venezuela.

One of these traditions is the eating of 12 grapes (green is my preference) at midnight. You get one wish with every grape, so 12 wishes in all for the new year! No matter where we are in the world, we have ALWAYS had our grapes. It’s funny – at midnight, after hugging friends and wishing everyone a Happy New Year it’s grape time! There’s a brief moment of silence in the room while everyone eats grapes and wishes.

This year we had the pleasure of celebrating New Year’s Eve with our friends Carlos and Catherine and Carlos’ son Santiago and had an awesome time partaking in various New Year’s traditions.

First, we had 5 zip-lock bags, each filled with 12 grapes, ready to eat at midnight.

Next, we took three very small pieces of tissue paper, and wrote one wish on each. I was super excited when Catherine and Carlos agreed to adding this tradition to the evening’s list, especially because I hadn’t done this one in a few years. After you write the wishes, you ball up the paper and wash it down at midnight with champagne, or any beverage of your choice. Fun.

Another tradition which gets a lot of laughs (but it’s worked for us!) is to take a suitcase and walk around your block. This will bring you travels in the new year. So there we were last night, walking around in Brooklyn, in 30-degree weather, each with a piece of luggage. We had a blast, laughing the entire time!

We also have a tradition that involves money – you put money (bills)- any amount will suffice – in your right shoe. More than having money, this tradition is for wishes of having the means for your everyday living needs.

After all these traditions were completed, Catherine shared with us a tradition in her family – we were excited to make new traditions with new friends! At midnight, Catherine’s family brings out pots and pans and bangs them with kitchen utensils to make some noise. We loved it!

So there you go. The Marin’s New Year’s Eve traditions plus a new one thanks to Catherine and Carlos!

Got some fun New Year’s Eve traditions you want to post here? I’d love to hear about them!

Thank you, and may you have a happy, healthy and great 2010!