<P> There are also traditional family events and meals and modern celebrations such as hosting parties and going to nightclubs . People usually eat grapes and drink Champagne with close family members and friends . </P> <P> The main event takes place at midnight where fireworks are lit along with thousands of life - size effigies called "Año Viejo". Most every local family creates the effigy from paper scraps, old clothes or purchases it altogether . They place just outside the front of their home . The effigy represents things you disliked from the previous year and are made to look like famous celebrities, politicians, public servants, cartoons, etc . They are burnt right at midnight to shed the old year and represent a new beginning . Some of the braver Ecuadorians jump through these burning effigies 12 times to represent a wish for every month . </P> <P> In Guatemala, banks close on New Year's Eve, and businesses close at noon . In the town of Antigua, people usually gather at the Santa Catalina Clock Arch to celebrate New Year's Eve (Spanish: Fin del Año). In Guatemala City the celebrations are centered on Plaza Mayor . Firecrackers are lit starting at sundown, continuing without interruption into the night . Guatemalans wear new clothes for good fortune and eat a grape with each of the twelve chimes of the bell during the New Year countdown, while making a wish with each one . </P> <P> The celebrations include religious themes which may be either Mayan or Catholic . Catholic celebrations are similar to those at Christmas . Gifts are left under the tree on Christmas morning by the Christ Child for the children, but parents and adults do not exchange gifts until New Year's Day . </P>

What happened to the ball on new years