New Year in Ecuador is as much about the Old Year as the new. Effigies are made of old clothes stuffed with newspaper and adorned with a mask. These are known as the "Año Viejos" or Old Years, and are burnt at midnight on New Year's Eve. The idea is to leave any negativity or problems behind in the old year and start afresh.
Ecuadorian people consist of a diverse collection of ethnic groups, almost all related to another group in one way or another.
US Dollar was accepted as the national currency of Ecuador on January, 2000, thereby replacing Sucre, the initial Ecuador Currency. It was nationally adopted in Ecuador from September, 2000.