This effigy head is about 4 feet high, and will sit upon a huge dummy on New Year’s Eve

Ecuador has an exciting way of celebrating New Year’s Eve, unlike anything seen in North America. (see here for last year’s report on it) Each family creates or buys an effigy, or dummy, for the celebration.  The family then writes short statements of things they want to leave behind in the new year.  For some it is “too much alcohol” or “unable to find a job” or something related to their family health, or whatever they want to forget or wish did not happen.  These slips of paper are either stuffed in the effigy or pinned to it, and at the stroke of midnight the effigy is set afire.

The streets are littered with fires, reminding me of the Berkeley streets during the riots of the 1960’s and early 1970’s (when we were both students there).  The difference though, is that people are dancing in the streets besides the bonfires, and the adventurous ones are jumping over the fires, which is supposed to bring added luck in the new year.  Since many of the effigies are also stuffed with firecrackers or fireworks, such jumping also is the leading cause of hospital visits each New Year’s Eve… ☺

Those that do not want to make their own effigies can buy them on the street during the week leading up to the celebration.  Some people buy generic dolls, costing $4 for child sized ones or $5 to $6 for adult sized dolls.  Others go for more identifiable effigies looking like cartoon figures, or the occasional obscene gesture — presumably sold to teenagers…