New Year’s Eve is full of traditions: the ball drop in New York City, champagne toasts and “Auld Lang Syne,” and… red underwear.
You mean you don’t have your red New Years underwear?!?
This is a tradition that takes place in a number of places in the world.
According to Ripley’s, the tradition in some of those countries may have come out of a medieval custom in which men would wear red underwear to bed in the winter.
That supposedly stopped witches from casting spells that could keep them from fathering children (!)
So in Spain, for example, the custom is to wear some undergarment (including, but not limited to, briefs) that’s red.
This could give you luck – or, specifically, luck in love – in the new year.
This is similar to a custom around Chinese New Year; red is the color of life, vitality, joy and luck, among other qualities.
By some accounts it can also distract the gods if they’re trying to give you a hard time.
So red underwear is one way to make your Chinese New Year a good one.
And if your age is going to be a multiple of 12 in that 12-year cycle, you may end up wearing red undergarments every day for the whole year.
In some parts of Latin America, red is also for good luck, or love, or both, but it’s not the only color choice in the tradition.
You might instead go for yellow undies, if you’re looking for a year full of happiness.
Green is for wealth, blue is for health and white is for peace and quiet.
But it’s worth noting that there are some competing claims about which color goes with which quality.
And this has all been about solid colors: do boxers with patterns give you luck and love and financial success? Or do too many colors water your fortunes down?
All I know is, I’ve now been thinking about other people’s underwear to a level that’s way past my comfort zone.
The ball in Times Square isn’t the only one that drops at midnight.
In Lebanon, Pennsylvania, there’s a disco ball that will hit the ground as the old year wraps up and the new one begins.
But this one drops with a Pennsylvania Dutch twist: it’s a disco ball covered in bologna.
Grab Your Red Underwear and Get Ready for New Year’s Eve (Ripley’s)
PEEPS, PICKLES, AND PUCKS: Unique New Year’s celebrations planned across Pennsylvania (ABC 27)
Thanks to our Patreon backers for supporting our show all year long! Why not join them in 2026?
