Manifest Like a Latina: New Year Rituals Inspired by Abuelas and Ancestors

With end-of-year festivities just around the corner, households worldwide are preparing to welcome the New Year in the best spirits. Rituals and superstitions are varied, ranging from everyday activities like cleaning your home to modern-day practices like creating vision boards. The general idea is to wrap up the year on a positive note, get rid of things or feelings that no longer serve a purpose, and make space for the new — literally or figuratively.

Practices and beliefs in Latin America and the Latino diaspora are just as diverse. Some of these traditions originate in colonial times or have been borrowed from other cultures, but others are deeply rooted in Indigenous and Black heritage. 

FIERCE rounded up five beauty and wellness hacks passed down from our ancestors that are worth incorporating into our rituals to receive 2025. 

Getting a limpia to remove bad energy

Though limpias or spiritual cleansings are commonplace in Latino cultures regardless of the time of the year, there’s perhaps no better time than the turn of the year to dissipate negative vibes and renovate energies. While in some countries limpias are performed by people trained explicitly for the purpose, don’t fret if there’s no spiritual practitioner or healer in your vicinity. 

You can get a limpia at home with plants such as eucalyptus, sage, laurel, herb of grace (rue), and feverfew. 

The herbs you choose will depend on availability and location. In some South American countries, curanderas and yerbateras use Andean highland plants. 

Meanwhile, people in México predominantly use copal, rue, and basil. To enhance the limpia, you can also incorporate elements such as incense or aromatic smoke and fragrances. 

For example, Indigenous women in Bolivia use bells and kaytu (thread). And in Cuenca, Ecuador, the practice includes smelling Florida water and smearing charcoal on the forehead and belly button. 

If you don’t have any herbal plants, opt for the traditional limpia con huevo. All you have to do is rub an egg all over your body to release bad vibes, remove mal de ojo (evil eye), and purify your aura.

Herbal showers and baths 

Along with limpias, Latinos swear by herbal showers and baths. During New Year’s Eve, washing our bodies with herbal blends is almost mandatory.    

Each plant combination has a meaning and serves a purpose. Hierbas amargas (“bitter” plants) such as rue, sage, eucalyptus, laurel, juniper, and thyme are ideal for liberating the body and soul from negativity. Meanwhile, a combination of hierbas dulces (sweet herbs) like lavender, mint, cinnamon, rosemary, chamomile, and rose petals will attract positivity and prosperity. 

The ritual is as simple as boiling water with the preferred plants and then washing or soaking your body with it. However, just like limpias, each country has its own rendition of this practice. Our advice is to find what suits you better and is easier to recreate at home. 

In Ecuador and Colombia, for example, some people opt for a baño amargo ahead of December 31, leaving time to properly take a baño de prosperidad on New Year’s Eve. You can accompany your ritual with meditation, scents, music, candles, and anything that makes you feel relaxed and ready to step into 2025 with a positive mindset. 

Speaking of which, enhance your beauty game with these beauty hacks

Although they’re not meant to be practiced at a specific time of the year, using traditional beauty hacks to upgrade your routine is a fantastic way of prepping for the New Year. There’s an abuela-approved tip for every beauty concern, but looking radiant is a priority during the festivities. 

If you want to glow on New Year’s Eve, pamper yourself from head to toe. Start with a full-body exfoliation with a DIY scrub made with sugar, honey, and coffee. Then, hydrate your skin with the Latina mom cure-it-all, aloe vera. Finally, wash your hair with rosemary water for a luscious, shiny mane. 

Has the hustle and bustle of the holidays take a toll on your complexion? Apply chamomile tea bags under your eyes to reduce puffiness and brighten the skin. Finally, spray rose water for extra hydration and oil control, and you’ll be ready to go. 

Deep-clean your spaces with Florida water

In addition to decluttering and getting rid of things you no longer use for practical purposes, cleaning is also a way of bringing in renewed energy. 

In many Latino households, a popular way of clearing spaces of negativity is to spray Florida water perfume. While the origins of this tradition are unclear—some credit Afro-folklore practitioners, and others trace it back to curanderos in the Andean region—communities across the Americas have incorporated this practice into their everyday lives for spiritual sanitation and protection.  

Again, the uses and preparation differ from one country and culture to another. Latina abuelas and mothers generally mix Florida water with alcohol on a spray bottle to freshen up spaces, furniture, and beds. Another popular use is combining it with water on a bucket to mop floors. Some people even add spices and herbs such as cinnamon, cloves, and rue to the bottle and use their contents to spray it like an air freshener. 

If you’re not a fan of the strong fragrance, mix Florida water with regular water and a few drops of your favorite perfume and spray it onto your room and bed sheets on New Year’s Eve. You can even apply this on your wrists and behind your ears after a limpia or herbal shower. 

Dress up and wear colored underwear

Perhaps one of Latinas’ most practiced traditions is dressing up or wearing brand-new clothes to welcome the New Year. Symbolizing the beginning of a new cycle and leaving the past behind, this custom is widespread and has taken many forms. (And to set the record straight, no, you can never be overdressed on New Year’s Eve.) 

In Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, people wear colored underwear to bring auspicious energy and ensure blessings for the New Year. Each color carries its own meaning. Yellow undergarments are said to ensure wealth and prosperity, while red represents romance and love. 

On the other hand, people in Brazil wear white clothing to attract peace and good fortune. The tradition, influenced by Afro-religions and practices, is linked to Iemanjá, the goddess of the sea in Candomblé and Umbanda religions.