End of Year Practices

Each country has their own practices when it comes to New Year’s Eve celebrations.

In the United States, the most famous practice is for everyone to gather in Times Square in New York City to usher in the coming year with the lowering of the Times Square Ball.

In the Philippines, the entire country literally welcomes the New Year with a bang. Firecrackers keep the ground night alive with crackles and booms of Sinturon ni Judas or Judas Belts and Triangulo, also known as triangle firecrackers. Up in the night sky, people are treated with dazzling displays of light as they color the sky with greens, yellows, reds, and blues.

Other than firecrackers, Filipinos practice a few things to welcome the New Year. I’ve listed down a few of the things typically done below.

Wear anything with circles

T-shirts, blouses, dresses, and even underwear need to have polka dots or anything with circles on them. The circles represent money, so wearing money is one of the ways to welcome prosperity in the coming year.

My wife already purchased an inexpensive dress at one of the malls a couple of weeks ago. And though I don’t look great in dots, even I may make an exception during New Year’s Eve.

Keep round fruits

Another thing to welcome prosperity in the coming year is to scatter round fruits around the dinner table.

Just like circles and polka dots, round fruits represent money. Having a lot of them in the house when the lock strikes twelve is another way to invite good fortune in the coming year.

I suggest getting your fruits early as the round ones tend to be the first to go in groceries all over the country.

Now if you don’t relish the idea of rubbing shoulders with other shoppers, you might want to keep the fruits that family and friends have given you instead of passing them on before the New Year. You can then share them with others after the last firecracker has been lighted.

Jump at midnight

As kids, we were told to jump as high as we can on New Year’s Eve so we become tall when we grow up.

And while adults know this isn’t true, ribbing those who don’t have basketball heights is one of the staple jokes among close friends.

It has been a practice of mine to jump as high as I could whenever the clock struck twelve.

When I was still a kid, I’d get on the bed and try to touch the ceiling. As a teenager, I’d jump from our steps. And as an adult, I’d break out the trampoline and bounce as high as I could. Who know, I may actually gain a few more inches next year.

Keep everything open

Another way to invite good fortune is to open up all the cabinets, drawers, piggy banks, and even wallets.

With cabinets, you invite new clothes; drawers are there to invite new items, piggy banks invite bigger savings, and wallets invite more money.

But it doesn’t stop there. Others even open all the doors, their SUV’s hood, and their car’s trunk just to invite even more good fortune.

The first thing I do when my family comes back from hearing anticipated mass is to open up everything in the house. In the case of doors, I wait until the last minute so insects don’t come in.

Pay off all debts

Starting the year without debt is one of the ways Filipinos like to welcome the New Year. By starting the year free of debt, many believe that the incoming year will also be free of debt.

So pay off all those credit card balances if you can. But if that is too much for you, try paying off the entire balance for the month so you won’t owe anything to credit card companies.

The same goes for people you owe money, by trying to settle your debts to them.

I normally set aside a major portion of my 13TH month bonus for this. Whenever possible, I pre-pay my credit cards so when my statement arrives, it shows a zero balance.

On the other end of the spectrum, there one thing that Filipinos avoid for the New Year – eating poultry.

Don’t eat chicken, turkey, and the like

Chickens are considered to be Isang Kain, Isang Tuka. Loosely translated that means that chickens live on a hand-to-mouth existence. So by avoiding chicken, Filipinos believe that savings in the New Year can be achieved.

Don’t worry about eggs as they are round and do denote prosperity. So those are alright to consume for the New Year.

Our family avoids cooking chicken for the New Year. Instead, we stick to Beef, Pork, and Fish. And since it is not uncommon to receive chicken as Christmas gifts, we make it a point to keep it in the refrigerator till after January 1.

Well there you have it, things that Filipinos practice to welcome the New Year. And though the entire country knows they are old practices, they are still popular in the age of the internet. Besides that, it can’t hurt and is actually fun when practiced as a family.

Happy New Year to one and all! And may the coming year be a prosperous one for you and your family!