This photo shows how New Year’s Day looked in Punta Uva, Limón. Yesterday, Jan. 3, was rainy in San José, and today is chilly and cloudy.
So what? Well, according to a traditional belief popular in Spain and Latin America, these weather patterns predict the whole year’s climactic ups and downs. According to the superstition, the weather on the first day of the year predicts the weather for January, the second day predicts February, and so on through Jan. 12 for December.
This piece in El Sol de Zacatecas, Mexico, explains that the tradition, sometimes known as cabañuelas, is “a tradition that refuses to die out.” Those truly in the know combine the first 12 days with the weather on the second 12 days (when they count backwards, Jan. 13 representing December, Jan. 14 November and so on) for a more nuanced forecast.
Here’s sending all our best to readers on the U.S. East Coast, trusting that today’s bomb cyclone and upcoming polar vortex don’t predict the weather for the entire month of May.
Read more about Costa Rican superstitions here:
https://ticotimes.net/2017/12/29/ojala-a-costa-rican-sense-of-luck-2
