Why the Color of Your Underwear Matters on New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is an odd thing—a single day marking a change of the calendar that comes with all kinds of expectations. While one night has no bearing on the events of the next 12 months, it doesn’t always feel that way. So people do as much as they can to ensure that the moment when the ball drops feels like the beginning of a really kick-ass journey around the sun. And for some people, the color of the fabric encasing your butt-cheeks on December 31 plays an important role in defining your personal roadmap for the year ahead.

In South America in particular, there are a few beliefs and customs surrounding your chosen New Year’s Eve underpants. In Brazil, Bolivia, and Venezuela, for example, opting for a yellow pair of undies on December 31 is said to bring luck, money, and happiness in the new year, due to the color’s association with all of these traits. But the underwear has to be new.

Alternatively, if you feel like you already have plenty of luck, money, and happiness—and if so, congratulations—donning a new pair of red underwear for the New Year will bring more love and passion to your life going forward. Red is universally associated with passion, so starting your year with your most passionate parts encased in the color of hot unbridled ecstasy certainly feels like there might be something to this whole color thing.

However, some people believe that the only way to ensure your colorful undies bring the fortune you’re hoping for is to wear them inside-out until the New Year arrives, then reverse them to their proper right-way-roundness. 

Does this mean you should celebrate the stroke of midnight by dropping your pants and showing everyone your hopes and dreams for the coming year? Well, that probably depends on what kind of party you’re at.