New year in Ecuador

The most popular tradition when midnight arrives, is to burn an effigy representing the old year or the year ends. The custom is famous throughout the country. The old are burned at 00:00 on 1 January in the streets of cities, often quite din (it is common to fill the old with firecrackers) and then this is followed by a dinner and festivities. Way back to the puppets used clothes stuffed with sawdust or newspaper, it now mainly manufactures wood, cardboard, and paper and in recent years was made in Guayaquil has become customary construction of giant puppets and elaborate that Some measure up to ten meters. Competitions are held to choose the best puppet, mainly in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil. And live performances are made with fireworks throughout the whole country. It is very common during the December 31 especially in popular areas that men masquerade as "widows" and ask for money on the streets to cars passing, accompanied by dances and picaresque words and representing the grievance felt by the "crazy widow "by the impending departure of her husband, in this case the year that is ending. All this to the rhythm of tropical music generally. In the houses it tend to build a place where the puppets or old-age, set in humorous scenes are placed for people to see. The puppets tend to hang posters with phrases about the chosen characters. This tradition tends to reunite families and neighborhoods, as the puppets are assembled by any household or neighborhood like the atmosphere they are given.

Other customs little less famous are:

Read a will where the counting is done purposes for the new year and all the misfortunes (as to ward off evil cabal) are read.

You put on a high denomination bill in the right shoe to have money or turn the ticket is held during the zero hour to have money all year.

Use yellow underwear if you want to sort and red if you want lucky in love.

Take a suitcase and run with it the entire block. To travel in the new year.

Eat twelve grapes twelve minutes before the end of the year, one for each month to abound in the twelve months.

It is customary to have dinner with the whole family gathered, the special dish is usually pork or turkey.

In the toast of the dinner it is customary to toast the good deeds of those present.

While the puppet is burned some families tend to jump on the fire to bring luck in the coming year.

For burning the old year in the capital, Quito and many other parts of the country as Guayaquil, many tend to tune to a dial on the radio very particular given the countdown to zero hour. Examples of popular dials for the occasion are Crystal Radio, Radio Sonorama, Radio Caravan and other radio broadcasters and the country (instead of Radio Tarqui which went off the air after 60 years of being on the air on October 30 de2015) stations.