Barking up the wrong tree

It is a New Year’s Eve tradition in many parts of Latin America to ring in the new year wearing new underwear. There’s more: The color of the underwear signifies what resolution one is seeking for the year ahead. Red means love. Yellow means money.

At Mexican markets, according to one published report cited by Mr. Lacey, yellow undergarments are flying off the shelves at a far greater pace than red ones as Mexicans seek to rebound financially.

“Before, we’d sell more red but today everyone needs money more than love,” Javier, who has sold underwear at the sprawling Martínez de la Torre market for a decade, told El Universal newspaper.