03:39At least half a thousand dolls were burned in Nicaragua on Friday to welcome the New Year, as seen in Managua, according to local media.
Every year Nicaraguans set the dolls on fire as part of a New Year's Eve tradition in Latin America - only this time the dolls were wearing masks to ward off negative pandemic vibes.
"To burn the misfortunes that happened this year, all this that has happened and continues to happen, the diseases all this, so people burn their past," explained one of the local artisans.
"I put a mask on it so that people become aware of the disease we are experiencing, that this is not over, this is a beginning, but we can all finish it together if we do our part," he added.
The dolls are made of old clothes, cardboard or paper, and stuffed with shavings, straw, or sawdust. Then they are burned on the night of the 31st of December with alcohol and gunpowder, and often with fireworks too.
The practice, originally from Ecuador, has also been adopted in other Latin American countries, and although it has been modified from country to country, they all keep the ritual of purification to eliminate bad luck or negative energies.
Midnight oil! Nicaraguans burn stuffed dolls to welcome New Year and ward off COVID
At least half a thousand dolls were burned in Nicaragua on Friday to welcome the New Year, as seen in Managua, according to local media.
Every year Nicaraguans set the dolls on fire as part of a New Year's Eve tradition in Latin America - only this time the dolls were wearing masks to ward off negative pandemic vibes.
"To burn the misfortunes that happened this year, all this that has happened and continues to happen, the diseases all this, so people burn their past," explained one of the local artisans.
"I put a mask on it so that people become aware of the disease we are experiencing, that this is not over, this is a beginning, but we can all finish it together if we do our part," he added.
The dolls are made of old clothes, cardboard or paper, and stuffed with shavings, straw, or sawdust. Then they are burned on the night of the 31st of December with alcohol and gunpowder, and often with fireworks too.
The practice, originally from Ecuador, has also been adopted in other Latin American countries, and although it has been modified from country to country, they all keep the ritual of purification to eliminate bad luck or negative energies.
At least half a thousand dolls were burned in Nicaragua on Friday to welcome the New Year, as seen in Managua, according to local media.
Every year Nicaraguans set the dolls on fire as part of a New Year's Eve tradition in Latin America - only this time the dolls were wearing masks to ward off negative pandemic vibes.
"To burn the misfortunes that happened this year, all this that has happened and continues to happen, the diseases all this, so people burn their past," explained one of the local artisans.
"I put a mask on it so that people become aware of the disease we are experiencing, that this is not over, this is a beginning, but we can all finish it together if we do our part," he added.
The dolls are made of old clothes, cardboard or paper, and stuffed with shavings, straw, or sawdust. Then they are burned on the night of the 31st of December with alcohol and gunpowder, and often with fireworks too.
The practice, originally from Ecuador, has also been adopted in other Latin American countries, and although it has been modified from country to country, they all keep the ritual of purification to eliminate bad luck or negative energies.