2023 is coming to an end and the most anticipated celebration of the year will take place once again. In addition to the Christmas party, the celebration of the New Year is the biggest event in every Filipino family.
As it approaches, Filipinos welcome the New Year with different preparations, celebrations, and festive traditions. theseThe celebration is designed to attract prosperity, abundance, and good fortuneFilipinos try to leave all the negative events in their lives for the year that is coming to an end and hope for the coming year to be full of positive vibes and good wishes.
Filipinos who love parties definitely don't lag behind when it comes to preparing for celebrations, you knowHow do Filipinos celebrate the arrival of the New Year?
What are the traditional New Year's customs?
7 Traditions of the Filipino New Year
the 7 common new year traditions in the philippines
1.12 round fruits and a midnight feast
12 round fruits and medianoche
To welcome the new year, Filipinos hold a midnight (medianoche) feast with specific foods and meals. Especially at dinner, a fruit bowl with 12 round fruits is placed. Twelve fruits are used to represent the twelve months of the year, and the round fruit symbolizes coins and money, a tradition that is said to bring prosperity and good luck in the coming year.
In addition to the twelve fruits, there are other common foods for the dinner party, each with an underlying meaning。The meal usually includes a combination of traditional Filipino dishes. There are generally adobo, Filipino spring rolls lumpia, pancit, roast suckling pig lechon, Filipino bread pandesal, biko, and roasted pudding leche flan.
Pancit is a noodle-based dish that symbolizes health and longevity. Families also eat rice cakes or glutinous riceFilipinos believe that eating slimy food during the New Year strengthens family bonds. More popular rice cakes include biko (sweet rice cake) and bibingka (baked rice cake).
2.Chickens and fish will not appear on the table
no chicken or fish dishes on your feast
Filipinos believe that chicken and fish are these types of dishes that lead to a lack of food in the family. Filipinos believe that these two dishes are usually eaten when there is a shortage of food because it is a cheaper alternative to red meat.
There is a Filipino proverb, "isang kahig, isang tuka". This means that you have to work (isang kahig) first in order to have food (isang tuka) at every meal. In this lifestyle, you can only afford to pay for the necessities of life, especially food, while animals such as chickens and fish will go around looking for food, and Filipinos don't want to continue looking for food in the coming year.
3.Wear clothes with polka dots
wearing polka dots
This tradition has a similar meaning to collecting round fruits on Chinese New Year's Eve, in the PhilippinesWearing a garment with a polka dot pattern is said to bring good luck. Dresses, shirts, pants, or any garment with a polka dot pattern can be worn. This is similar to the Chinese wearing red on the New Year, which means that it is prosperous all year round.
4.Replace the banknotes and scatter coins around the house
replace dollar bills and scatter coins around the house
Filipino cultural superstition to spend money on the New Year is widely believedNot spending money on New Year's Day can improve financial management and income in the following months.
As a result, many Filipinos tend to stay at home and avoid spending money. Filipinos also often replace the money in their wallets with new ones, hoping that their pockets will remain full in the new year. Some Filipinos will scatter coins around the house to help attract wealth in the new year.
5.Turn on the lights and open the doors and windows of your home
le**ing the doors open and the lights on
The Filipino New Year tradition has one thing in common, and that is to bring prosperity to all aspects of life. To bring good luck in the New Year, Filipinos open the doors and windows of their homes during the New Year. Filipinos believe that the New Year is lit up and a sign of a bright future. Open doors and windows to welcome and attract the blessings and prosperity of the coming year into their homes.
6.Jump high when the clock strikes midnight
jumping when the clock strikes midnight
Another New Year's tradition unique to the Philippines is that when the clock strikes midnight, children jump up. Both parents encourage their children to jump higher, believing that the higher they jump, the higher they will grow.
7.Make a loud noise when the New Year arrives
***loud noises as the first day of the year approaches
At 12 o'clock sharp, even an hour before the first day of the new year, Filipinos begin to make as much noise as possible, whether it is from karaoke, televisions, ** speakers, or even car horns. The ultimate purpose of this is:Drive away the bad mood and negativity for the coming year as loudly as you can. In addition to loud sounds and fireworks, firecrackers are lit to make sounds to ward off evil spirits.
In addition to the above Filipino New Year traditions, there are a few must-know Filipino New Year words, let's learn them together!
The New Year is getting closer and closer, and I hope that international students can experience and understand the Filipino culture while spending the New Year holiday happily and fully in the Philippines