Out with the old, in with the new

In case you haven’t noticed, the world didn’t end. Things looked rather grim for a while, and it seemed like as the days got closer and closer to December 21^st I saw more and more people huddled in corners, making plans for the End of It All. “We should all gather in a group,” one woman told me solemnly, “So that we can die together. How will we find one another once the eclipse comes and the sun goes out?” Well, that’s one hell of a way to start a conversation.

When December 21^st came and left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. People walked with a lighter spring in their step. There was no earthquake! No eclipse! No cataclysmic event at all! Maybe because no one actually expected to be able to enjoy 2013, New Year’s turned out to be quite the event.

Just like Christmas, New Year’s was quite a family event for me. My siblings Rubven, Mayson, Maiker and Yessenea had stayed around after the holidays, and Erica and Robinson promised to return home soon to enjoy the festivities at home. Yessenea, ever the bubbly recruiter, soon enlisted me to deck out our general store. Since yellow is considered the color for happiness and usually plays a prominent role in New Year’s décor. People gift yellow underwear in order to wish someone luck, and yellow streamers, necklaces, and other brick-a-brack are hung from buildings. In order to usher in a prosperous year, Maiker, Yessenea and I spent a good amount of time blowing up yellow balloons and hanging them from the store ceiling and walls. We also had fun participating in the second traditional New Year’s activity: burning the muñeca. Muñeca means “doll” in Spanish, but in this case it’s more like a scarecrow. Families build life-size human dolls out of old cloth and straw and then dress it in old clothing. The doll is usually given a face and a name (some take a more tongue-in-cheek approach and have muñecas that look strikingly like the president or the local town mayor) and, at the stroke of midnight, burned in the street. The point of the burning is to rid the family of the old, and usher in the new. My brothers had a great time making our muñeca and made it especially life-like. It scared the crap out of me. Whenever I left the bathroom I’d scream because I thought some creepy man was watching me. My family found that endlessly amusing.

Before our New Year’s festivities could kick off, a friend of mine, Mr. Galo, stopped by our house. He asked me and my parents to come with him to a nearby house, for reasons not really specified. When we arrived, we were in for quite a surprise. Inside was a fairly large crowd of people and three bright, shiny machines with a champagne bottle attached to each one. The machines were milling machines, which would be used to grind cereals and grains. Local families could pay a fee to use the machines, and in turn sell the ground products or use them for themselves. The machines had just been completed, and it was time for them to have “godparents.” I swear, everything here has a godparent. In this case the “godparent” was the person to open the machines up for business and make them available to the public. So, that was how I found myself on New Year’s Eve, smashing champagne bottles against milling machines and having a great time. Afterwards we feasted on more champagne and pachamanca before returning home.

When we got back, the family was all united and it was time to celebrate. Robinson and Erica arrived and brought Marti Gras-style masks, yellow luau necklaces, silly string, confetti, and a piñata in the shape of a giant beer bottle. The piñata was filled with candy and sweets and promptly hung from the second story over our front door. At midnight, we began to party. We burned the muñeca in the street and began to launch fireworks. As my sisters pranced around with sparklers and Roman candles, we formed a conga line and began hitting the piñata. While Robinson and Mayson sprayed everyone with silly string and tossed confetti, the piñata finally broke and all the neighborhood kids dashed for the treats. We passed around champagne, ate grapes (the tradition is to eat 12 grapes and, after you eat each one, you make a wish), and lit more fireworks. We then had a chocolatada and passed around slices of pantetón and hot chocolate to everyone. But that was not the end of the food. My mom and older siblings had fried potatoes and chicken and prepared a plate for everyone. Of course, no party would be complete without some wino. We closed the doors of the shop, made a dance floor, and boogied until the early hours of the morning.

So cheers, everyone! Here’s to hoping that we all have another wonderful year together, and that everyone remembers that the Mayans really are only good for their chocolate.