People in Philippines mostly celebrate New Year with their family members and friends. The celebrations take place from New Year's Eve. The families gather at night and have a meal together. This signifies good luck and plenty of production in the year ahead. After the meal, they offer their prayers. A special ingredient of the meal is that it consists of 12 different fruits. The twelve fruits signify the twelve months of the year.
Media Noche or midnight mass is one of the important New Year customs in Philippines. The mass is believed to offer good luck all over the year and drive away evil forces. Fireworks are very popular in the country and as such they are a major part of the New Year customs in Philippines. The sky is lit with different types of fireworks. They symbolize happiness and prosperity throughout the year. Fireworks in Philippines are known as Filipino paputok'.
THE NOISIEST TIME OF THE YEAR IN THE PHILIPPINES
The same way Americans enjoy Fourth of July fireworks, Filipinos go all out with the noise on New Year’s eve. Filipino paputok (firecrackers) come in so many shapes and go by very interesting names — judas belt (a string of firecrackers), super lolo (“grandfather”), kwitis (from the Spanish word cohetes meaning rocket), bawang (“garlic”), airwolf…
Children love scratching the dancing firecracker watusi against concrete sidewalks and cemented surfaces, although the government has been warning against it because of chemical poisoning.
Pots and pans are clanged to scare away evil spirits. A few men shoot guns in the air if they think they can get away with it. Cars and trucks are vroomed and horns are tooted to cause as much noise as possible. Empty cans are dragged all around, whistles are blown.
OTHER FILIPINO TRADITIONS ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
Before the clock strikes midnight to herald in the new year, all doors must be left wide open to allow good luck to enter. This includes cupboards, drawers, cabinets... windows!
Filipinos try to dress in polka-dots because the roundness signifies prosperity. Pockets are filled with round coins, which are jangled to attract wealth. Coins are also left on top of tables and in drawers.
At the exact moment of midnight, Filipino children jump as high as they can because they believe this will make them taller. Whatever condition your wallet is in when the New Year arrives, so it will be the rest of the year. Make sure to put in the money your received on Christmas. The same goes for the neatness of your home.
Filipinos spend the last days of the year vigorously cleaning everything, especially of dust. However, on thefirst day of the new year, you are not supposed to do any cleaning. No cleaning on New Year’s Day itself!
And don’t start the year off by spending money. Frugality on the first day sets the tone for wise money management in the coming year.
