In 2025, it is safe to say most people are hoping for some luck, but could that come from an undergarment?
Many on TikTok are arguing it can. The tradition of wearing specific underwear colors on New Year’s Eve is a superstition that has more recently gained traction online. Rooted in Latin American and European cultures, this practice involves wearing different colors of underwear to attract certain types of luck or energy in the coming year.
The Superstition Around Underwear Color on New Year’s Eve
While cultures all over the world practice, and have practiced, the New Year underwear superstition, TikTok is playing a role in its popularity this year. One video, posted by Liberty Walker, has received over 221,000 views in under 24 hours.
“The color of your underwear is going to be what you want to attract in your new year,” Walker said in the video via @libertyavawalker, before she ran through the colors and their associated meanings.
Anabel Maldonado, founder of PSYKHE and a fashion psychologist, told Popsugar in December that the superstition surrounding underwear color on New Year’s Eve relates to the theory of “enclothed cognition”; this suggests that our clothing choices influence our mental processes, emotions and behaviors. Researchers at Northwestern University coined the term when they found that people wearing white doctor’s coats performed tasks with greater focus, associating their wardrobe with heightened attention.
While there is no rule book that spells out the colors’ meanings for certain, there are some commonly agreed-upon meanings:
Green
If you are hoping to attract more wealth and money in 2025, green underwear is your best bet for prosperity, according to the superstition.
Red
Wear red if you are hoping for a romantic partner in the new year or are seeking a renewed commitment to passion and vitality.
Pink
It makes sense that pink’s contribution to the underwear superstition also has to do with love—but the color is for new, budding love. Wear pink if you are looking for sweet connections with friends and dates.
Blue
If you are just hoping to get through 2025 with your health, blue is the color for you. Wear blue for wellness, stability and calm.
Black
Black might not be an intuitive color for good luck, but it can be a powerful hue to wear if you are hoping to regain some control over your life in 2025. Black can symbolize letting go of what’s not for you and regaining agency.
White
Like white doves represent peace, so underwear in that color represents tranquillity and harmony for the new year—a good setup for a fresh start.
Other New Year’s Superstitions You Might Not Know About
While the underwear superstition might sound a bit far-fetched, it is certainly not the only one people take seriously.
In Spain and Latin America, many people eat exactly 12 grapes at midnight to cement their good fortune for the new year. In other cultures, cleaning and doing laundry are discouraged on New Year’s Day for fear of “washing away” good luck.
In the U.S., people in the South eat collard greens and black-eyed peas on New Year’s to invite prosperity; the beans themselves represent coins, while the greens symbolize money—rooting itself in similar color symbolism to the underwear superstition.
As we all hope for a healthy and prosperous 2025, there seem to be plenty of cultural and online superstitions to help cover our bases.
The post Why Underwear Color on New Year’s Eve Is a Very Big Deal for Some People appeared first on Newsweek.
