MANILA: With the dining table set with symbolic foods, a bit of noise and rituals to invite good luck, Filipinos are ready to welcome the New Year, carefully observing every tradition and superstition to bring prosperity.<\/p>\n
Media noche or the midnight dinner on New Year\u2019s Eve is central to the celebration. Besides traditional meats, there will be sticky rice dishes to keep the family sticking together, and pancit or long rice noodles to represent long life.<\/p>\n
There should also be 13 round fruits prepared specifically for the occasion, with 12 representing each month of the year, and the 13th adding extra luck. Because they are round like coins, they are believed to invite abundance, wealth and prosperity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cook bilo-bilo (sticky rice balls) with coconut milk and palitaw (sweet rice cakes). It\u2019s something we simply grew up with,\u201d said Cel Reyes from Mabini in Batangas province, south of Manila.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sticky, so it symbolizes togetherness, and it is also round. Anything that\u2019s round is prepared also as a symbol of prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Malabon, a coastal city in the northern part of Metro Manila, Priam Nepomuceno\u2019s 86-year-old mother-in-law sets unhulled rice on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the gold color, it\u2019s believed to bring luck and abundance,\u201d he said. \u201cGrapes are also hung on the door. They\u2019re not meant to be eaten and are kept hanging for the whole year as a symbol of prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some people also jump when the clock strikes 12, believing it will help them grow taller.<\/p>\n
In many households, all lights are lit before midnight, with doors and windows open to allow good spirits to enter, while noise from firecrackers and party horns keeps the bad ones at bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy nature, Filipinos are superstitious. We believe in good luck, deities. We give in to faith and luck, and it\u2019s tied to deep spirituality,\u201d said Juanita Galang-Trinidad, an 80-year-old editor from Bulacan province north of Manila.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also put 12 coins in varying amounts in our pockets and wear polka dot clothing. Rice, cereal, and salt containers should be full.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Year\u2019s celebrations, like Christmas, bring families together, but with extra traditions for good luck. Beyond the midnight feast and keeping round objects on the table and at hand, Filipinos try to pay off debts to avoid financial trouble in the coming year.<\/p>\n
On New Year\u2019s Eve, they also avoid serving chicken, as chickens are believed to scratch backward when they eat, symbolically scratching away good fortune.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hold on to our traditions despite these growing changes, modernity, in our environment,\u201d Trinidad said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still hold on to our traditions and customs because they identify us as a people, as Filipinos.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANILA: With the dining table set with symbolic foods, a bit of noise and rituals to invite good luck, Filipinos are ready to welcome the New Year, carefully observing every tradition and superstition to bring prosperity. Media noche or the midnight dinner on New Year\u2019s Eve is central to the celebration. Besides traditional meats, there …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":91701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91684"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91702,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91684\/revisions\/91702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}