Many avenues have fruit stalls, vendors and incense shops. Sought after by many, who among the smoke and aroma hope for better days.

Vendors with tables of products of all colors, scents and functions await believers. Doris gets up early in search of Tres Reyes incense, stinking caraña coal and myrrh “I burn it at midnight to give an offering to God.

Another sought-after product is 7-power incense, anise star, and cinnamon sticks. They look for sandalwood, bay leaves and rosemary.

Sandalwood is one of the most powerful and spiritual incenses. Its properties make it conducive to protection and love.

The Laurel has traditionally been used for purification, protection, healing, money, justice and dreams.

Ofelia Guevara, you have been selling these products for years, points out that among the most sought after are benjui guasa and palo santo.

Baths with sea salt, fruits such as orange or tangerine among others are popular these days.

“Well, what I do is make some baths with the herbs and elements that the Mayombe garment tells me” Octavio Tata nkisi SieteRayos (his nzila congo) tells us. He adds that the baths with bitter herbs are to strip and to close the year and the following day, that is, in the New Year, with sweet herbs such as mint, mint, quereme, paste paste, basil, pacholi, abrecamino, rosemary, among others.

He comments that of the bitter herbs such as Espanta Muerto, rompe Saragüey, Fennel, Anamú, Destrancadera, Cuadrao, Contragavilana are among the most used for baths.

“One asks which herbs are yes and which are not, for how many days the bath is given, and what elements it takes, if water, gin, light or dark rum, tobacco, camphor, cascarilla.

“It takes me almost a whole night” Octavio tells us, pointing out that the herbs are sung and scrubbed, not cooked.

Abundance

The ones that cannot be missing in many doors, the rice maso. Popular belief indicates that it is used so that food is not lacking, the year must be received with the maso in front of the door and then it goes behind.

Grekchell Pérez tells us that at midnight his family eats 12 grapes and counts the seeds to find their lucky number. "We left with suitcases to have trips" he comments.

There are those who prefer something more conservative such as the so-called “Misa del Gallo” in the Catholic faith, which is generally celebrated before midnight on Christmas Eve, in commemoration of the birth of Jesus.

New year new clothes for many. The color of the wardrobe can help:

Green: It will attract hope, health, positivity, stability and luck in business to your life.

Red: The color of sensuality and love, if by 2020 you want to find love, this is the right color for you.

White: Peace, balance, purity and health are one of the many energies that you can incorporate into your life using this color in the New Year.

Yellow: A color used to attract luck in money with great energy power, which will manage to channel happiness in your day to day.

Purple: If your goal for 2020 is to have an inner transformation, this color is the one for you, as it is directly connected to self-perception and self-awareness.

Gold: If you had a not very successful 2019 in the field of money, this color will be perfect, as it has the ability to call money and wealth.

Silver: Do you want a 2020 full of new emotions, fun and success? Then the silver one will be the one to receive your new year.

Blue: Tranquility, harmony and serenity are some of the energies that we can attract when using this color to welcome the new year.