Tradizione del rosso a Capodanno in Italia

Why do Italians wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve?

This quiz asks Italians which color they wear for luck on New Year’s Eve — the answer is rosso, red. Specifically, the tradition calls for intimo rosso: new red underwear, worn (and often given as a gift) on December 31st to bring good fortune, love, and prosperity in the year ahead.

The custom blends two old threads: in ancient Rome, red was considered apotropaic — believed to ward off evil and to symbolize power, fertility, and wealth — while a separate strand of red-for-luck imagery reached Europe from Chinese New Year traditions. Today the ritual is casual but widespread: buy it new, wear it that one night, and it’s done its job.