Foods that Bring Good Fortune
- Sweet-and-Sour Sauerkraut
- Brown-Butter Creamed Winter Greens
- Sausage and Lentils
- Sausage and Lentils with Fennel
- Hoppin' John Salad with Molasses Dressing
- Cuban-Style Roast Suckling Pig
- Sauerkraut with Apples
- Salt Cod in Tomato Garlic Confit
- New Year's Orange and Brandy Cake
- Pecan Shortbread Cookies
- Coffee-Glazed Doughnuts
Most Filipinos follow a set of traditions that are typically observed during New Year's Eve. Included among these traditions is the customary habit of wearing clothes with circular patterns like polka dots, this signifies the belief that circles attract money and fortune or other colorful clothing to show enthusiasm for the coming year. Throwing coins at the stroke of midnight is said to increase wealth that year. Traditions also include the serving of circularly-shaped fruits, shaking of coins inside a metal casserole while walking around the house, and jumping up high which is believed to cause an increase in physical height. People also make loud noises by blowing on cardboard or plastic horns, called "torotot", banging on pots and pans or by igniting firecrackers and pyrotechnics at the stroke of midnight, in the belief that it scares away malevolent spirits and forces.
Urban areas are usually hosts to many New Year's Eve parties and countdown celebrations which are usually hosted by the private sector with the help of the local government. These parties usually display their own fireworks spectacles and are often very well attended.The main celebration is focused on Manila Bay at Roxas Boulevard, Manila Philippines.
In the Philippines, the midnight sky on New Year's Eve explodes with blossoms of fireworks as children run through the streets playing and families celebrate the anticipation of a prosperous New Year. At a quarter past midnight, the noise subsides and everyone returns home to a special dinner called the "Media Noche." The feast includes 12 servings of fruit along with main dishes specially selected to bring good luck to the months ahead.
Filipinos borrow many traditions from the Chinese, and the idea of letting go of bad luck/bad spirits and ushering in good luck for the coming new year is the overall theme for Filipino New Year celebrations. Come late December, fruit vendors set up their stalls in more convenient locations so that people can get easier access to round fruits. You see, preparing 13 different kinds of round fruits (apples, watermelons, oranges, kiwi, pineapples, melon, cantaloupe, seedless grapes, etc) during New Year’s Eve is said to bring good luck and prosperity to the family for the coming year. Why 13 round fruits, you ask? 13 is a lucky number to the Chinese, and the fruits’ round shape resembles coins. Hence, wealth and prosperity. Eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight (one for each month of the year) is also said to bring wealth and luck.
For many, January 1 offers an opportunity to forget the past and make a clean
Fruit Bowls
Fruit dishes are traditionally served for "Media Noche" in the Philippines.
Filipinos eat grapes on New Year's Eve to bring good luck in the months ahead.
Filipinos believe that displaying colorful fruits in large bowls brings forth a prosperous New Year. For the Media Noche feast, fruit is plentiful at the dinner table, including everything from pineapples and strawberries to oranges and mangos. Filipinos traditionally eat 12 ubas (grapes) at the stroke of midnight to bring good luck for each month of the coming year.Filipino Biko
Biko is topped with caramel or latik (fried coconut milk curd).
Biko, a traditional Filipino New Year's dessert, consists of a sticky rice cake coated with caramel topping to ensure that good fortune will "stick around" throughout the year. Biko is made with rice, coconut milk, sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. The ingredients are mixed and baked for an hour and then topped with caramel or latik (fried coconut milk curd).Pancit Bihon
Filipinos believe pancit (noodles) signify long life. Pancit noodles are made from leavened dough and serve as a staple pasta to which vegetables, spices, and poultry can be added for special occasions. Pancit Bihon is made with chicken, chicken broth, cabbage, cloves, carrots, scallions, calamansi (lime) and soy sauce.Grapes
New Year's revelers in Spain consume twelve grapes at midnight—one grape for each stroke of the clock. This dates back to 1909, when grape growers in the Alicante region of Spain initiated the practice to take care of a grape surplus. The idea stuck, spreading to Portugal as well as former Spanish and Portuguese colonies such as Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru. Each grape represents a different month, so if for instance the third grape is a bit sour, March might be a rocky month. For most, the goal is to swallow all the grapes before the last stroke of midnight, but Peruvians insist on taking in a 13th grape for good measure.Cooked Greens
Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason — their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune. The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, the Germans consume sauerkraut (cabbage) while in the southern United States, collards are the green of choice. It's widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one's fortune next year.
Legumes
Legumes including beans, peas, and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small, seedlike appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind. In Italy, it's customary to eat cotechino con lenticchie or sausages and green lentils, just after midnight—a particularly propitious meal because pork has its own lucky associations. Germans also partner legumes and pork, usually lentil or split pea soup with sausage. In Brazil, the first meal of
In the Southern United States, it's traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called hoppin' john. There are even those who believe in eating one pea for every day in the new year. This all traces back to the legend that during the Civil War, the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, ran out of food while under attack. The residents fortunately discovered black-eyed peas and the legume was thereafter considered lucky.
Pork
The custom of eating pork on New Year's is based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress. The animal pushes forward, rooting itself in the ground before moving. Roast suckling pig is served for New Year's in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria—Austrians are also known to decorate the table with miniature pigs made of marzipan. Different pork dishes such as pig's feet are enjoyed in Sweden while Germans feast on roast pork and sausages. Pork is also consumed in Italy and the United States, where thanks to its rich fat content, it signifies wealth and prosperity.Léchon
Lechón, or suckling pig, is served at Christmas as well as New Year's in the Philippines.
Léchon is a suckling pig that has been roasted until the skin forms a hard brown crust. The suckling is served for Christmas as well as New Year's in wealthy households. The inside of the suckling is very fatty; strips containing the highest amounts of fat are considered the most flavorful. Filipinos believe the status of the host and the importance of the occasion are measured by the amount of léchon being served.
Filipino traditions are largely adopted from Chinese cultures that signify the importance of holiday foods with homophonic words that imply specific meanings. For example, the Chinese word for "fish" sounds like the world "surplus" and indicates the hope for a year filled with surplus and prosperity. Accordingly, in the Philippines, New Year's dinner is served with whole snapper or mackerel broiled or baked and garnished with fruit or vegetables. Fish is a very logical choice for the New Year's table. According to Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, cod has been a popular feast food since the Middle Ages. He compares it to turkey on Thanksgiving. The reason? Long before refrigeration and modern transportation, cod could be preserved and transported allowing it to reach the Mediterranean and even as far as North Africa and the Caribbean. Kurlansky also believes the Catholic Church's policy against red meat consumption on religious holidays helped make cod, as well as other fish, commonplace at feasts. The Danish eat boiled cod, while in Italy, baccalà, or dried salt cod, is enjoyed from Christmas through New Year's. Herring, another frequently preserved fish, is consumed at midnight in Poland and Germany—Germans also enjoy carp and have been known to place a few fish scales in their wallets for good luck. The Swedish New Year feast is usually a smorgasbord with a variety of fish dishes such as seafood salad. In Japan, herring roe is consumed for fertility, shrimp for long life, and dried sardines for a good harvest (sardines were once used to fertilize rice fields).Cakes, Etc.
Cakes and other baked goods are commonly served from Christmas to New Year's around the world, with a special emphasis placed on round or ring-shaped items. Italy has chiacchiere, which are honey-drenched balls of pasta dough fried and dusted with powdered sugar. Poland, Hungary, and the Netherlands also eat donuts, and Holland has ollie bollen, puffy, donut-like pastries filled with apples, raisins, and currants.
In certain cultures, it's customary to hide a special trinket or coin inside the cake—the recipient will be lucky in the new year. Mexico's rosca de reyes is a ring-shaped cake decorated with candied fruit and baked with one or more surprises inside. In Greece, a special round cake called vasilopita is baked with a coin hidden inside. At midnight or after the New Year's Day meal, the cake is cut, with the first piece going to St. Basil and the rest being distributed to guests in order of age. Sweden and Norway have similar rituals in which they hide a whole almond in rice pudding—whoever gets the nut is guaranteed great fortune in the new year.
Cakes aren't always round. In Scotland, where New Year's is called Hogmanay, there is a tradition called "first footing," in which the first person to enter a home after the new year determines what kind of year the residents will have. The "first footer" often brings symbolic gifts like coal to keep the house warm or baked goods such as shortbread, oat cakes, and a fruit caked called black bun, to make sure the household always has food.
| Noodles |
In many Asian countries, long noodles are eaten on New Year's Day in order to bring a long life. One catch: You can't break the noodle before it is all in your mouth.
What Not to Eat In The New Year!
In addition to the aforementioned lucky foods, there are also a few to avoid. Lobster, for instance, is a bad idea because they move backwards and could therefore lead to setbacks. Chicken is also discouraged because the bird scratches backwards, which could cause regret or dwelling on the past. Another theory warns against eating any winged fowl because good luck could fly away.Now that you know what to eat, there's one more superstition—that is, guideline—to keep in mind. In Germany, it's customary to leave a little bit of each food on your plate past midnight to guarantee a stocked pantry in the New Year. Likewise in the Philippines, it's important to have food on the table at midnight. The conclusion? Eat as much lucky food as you can, just don't get too greedy—or the first place you'll be going in the new year is the gym.
Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by hog jowls or ham, either one. The Southern States like Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, will always have the full blown full southern soul dinner or supper just steaming with money and luck.
blackeyed peas / Hoppin Johns
• ham / hog jowls
• cabbage / collard greens / mustard greens / kale
• sometimes white rice and brown gravy
• raw sliced onions
• always cornbread! Some nice cracklin' cornbread would be fantastic!
Traditional New Year foods are thought to bring good luck.
• Collard greens are considenavy lucky because they are green, like greenbacks -- money!
• Eating cornbread in the South will bring wealth .
• Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.
• Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures.
• The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity.
• Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency.
• In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.
• Lucky New Year Food in Greece - The Greek tradition of eating Vasilopita (a cake baked with a coin inside) originated from the famously high taxes that the Ottoman Empire imposed on the Greek people during the long Ottoman reign. Saint Basil asked the women to bake a large cake with the valuables inside. When he sliced the cake, the valuables miraculously found their way back to their rightful owners! Today, a cake is baked in honor of this miracle and one coin is baked inside of it. The person who bites into his piece of cake and finds the coin will be blessed with good luck in the coming New Year.
• Lucky New Year Food in Italy - The Italian people eat a traditional New Year dish called cotechino con lenticchie: pork sausage served over lentils. This New Year food is eaten because of the presence of fatty rich pork sausage and lentils in it. Cotechino sausage is a symbol of abundance because they are rich in fat; while lentils symbolize money (being both green and coin shaped).
• Spanish / Cuban people have brought in the New Year by eating 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight. The 12 grapes signify the last twelve months of the year.
• Champagne: The Universal drink for toasting the New Year.
• Eating noodles at midnight is customary at Buddhist temples in Japan.
• A German/Pennsylvania Dutch tradition is to eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year's day for good luck.
• It is the tradition of Bosnia & Croatia (both of former Yugoslavia) to eat what is called "Sarma" or beef wrapped tightly in cabbage to bring good luck in health and wealth for the upcoming year.
• German folklore says that eating herring at the stroke of midnight will bring luck for the next year.
• Eating pickled herring as the first bite of the New Year brings good luck to those of Polish descent.
• In the Philippines, it is important to have food on the table at midnight in order to insure an abundance of food in the upcoming year.
• Boiled Cod is a New Year's Eve must in Denmark.
• Olie Bollen is a donut-like fritter that is popular in Holland for New Year. Olie Bollen are small round Dutch doughnuts that are traditional to serve on New Year's Eve. The name of these tasty treats literally translates to "oil balls." Olie Bollen are delicious. The Dutch regularly stud their Olie Bollen dough with raisins, currants or even finely diced apples.
• Black-eyed peas, fish, apples, and beets are eaten for luck at the Jewish New Year's celebration (not celebrated on Jan 1).
• Another tradition from the Philippines is to collect 7 different types of round fruits. The round shapre of the fruits signify money and seven is believed to be a lucky number. Set on the dinner table on New Year's eve, the fruits are believed to bring prosperity and sound financial status for the coming year.
• 'First Foot' or 'First Footing' (see First Foot Day) comes from the first person to cross the threshold into a home on the first day of the New Year. Years ago, for good luck, the first person
to enter your home should of been a dark male. As this dark man knocked on your door he would of brought with him symbolic pieces of coal, shortbread, salt, black buns and some whisky. This is how the Scottish tradition did it and is believed to have come from the Viking days of long ago when it was not so lucky to have a big long haired blonde stranger arrive on your door step with a big axe." The shortbread and black buns are eaten throughout the day and the whisky is drank.
New Year Celebration in the Philippines
New Year's eve celebration in the Philippines is quite different compared to other countries. Filipinos literally start the year with a bang. Just a few days before New Year's eve, you will see lots of side walk vendors selling different kinds of firecrakers. In spite of the yearly ban on firecrackers, because of a number of accidents caused by firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices that have resulted in the loss of lives, limbs and properties, still many Filipinos see lighting of firecrackers as the traditional means to greet and celebrate the New Year eve.
New Year's eve celebration in the Philippines is quite different compared to other countries. Filipinos literally start the year with a bang. Just a few days before New Year's eve, you will see lots of side walk vendors selling different kinds of firecrakers. In spite of the yearly ban on firecrackers, because of a number of accidents caused by firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices that have resulted in the loss of lives, limbs and properties, still many Filipinos see lighting of firecrackers as the traditional means to greet and celebrate the New Year eve.
Firecrackers and Noisemakers
Firecrackers are called paputok... and there is an array of firecrackers available in the marketsuch as : Rebentador, Super Lolo, Super Pla Pla, Triangulo( triangularly shaped firecrackers), Bawang, Sinturon ni Judas (Judas Belt), Jumbo Fountain, Whiste Bomb, best selling firecrackers like Baby Rockets (Kuwitis), Luisis ,Watusi, Bulalakaw (Comets) just to name a few.
Bocaue and Santa Maria Bulacan are the home of firecracker industry in the Philippines, which supplies most of the country's demand for firecrackers. In recent years, local manufacturers have begun producing impressive aerial fireworks displays.
Though the Filipino fireworks industry is about a century old, it is a newcomer in aerial displays. With the new introduction of modern aerial fireworks displays in the country and the recent first World Pro Olympics which took place in The Esplanade at the back of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City from December 26 to 30, this event has raised fireworks to an art form.
December 31 is usually an unofficial public holiday in the Philippines, so people can prepare for the New Year eve celebration, it is a busy day for all families, preparing the food for the media noche, people are rushing in to buy firecrackers in preparation for the night celebration.
This is the time of the year when children have a good time blowing their plastic toy trumphets called "Torotot". It comes in different shapes and sizes, colors and designs, it is a replica of a trumpet, Pinoy style.
Children also enjoy stamping on their watusi - a kind of small firecracker that when rubbed against a rough surface and released, crackles into a little sparkwork dance.
Here are a few fruits:
Apples, Pears, Oranges Pineapple, Banana, Water melon, Kiwi, Punkan, Cantaloupe
Longans and SweetTamarind, Mango Seedless Grapes, Papaya, strawberry
There are so many sweet and round fruits its ok to have them as long as you have 13 kind of fruits for the New Year! Remember no sour fruits! if possible all sweets.
Maligayang Pasko !!
Bocaue and Santa Maria Bulacan are the home of firecracker industry in the Philippines, which supplies most of the country's demand for firecrackers. In recent years, local manufacturers have begun producing impressive aerial fireworks displays.
Though the Filipino fireworks industry is about a century old, it is a newcomer in aerial displays. With the new introduction of modern aerial fireworks displays in the country and the recent first World Pro Olympics which took place in The Esplanade at the back of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City from December 26 to 30, this event has raised fireworks to an art form.
December 31 is usually an unofficial public holiday in the Philippines, so people can prepare for the New Year eve celebration, it is a busy day for all families, preparing the food for the media noche, people are rushing in to buy firecrackers in preparation for the night celebration.
This is the time of the year when children have a good time blowing their plastic toy trumphets called "Torotot". It comes in different shapes and sizes, colors and designs, it is a replica of a trumpet, Pinoy style.
Children also enjoy stamping on their watusi - a kind of small firecracker that when rubbed against a rough surface and released, crackles into a little sparkwork dance.
Filipinos New Year's Beliefs and Practices
Aside from lighting firecrackers and having firework displays, Filipinos have other beliefs and practices which are associated and believed to bring good luck, fortune, and prosperity in the New Year.
It is also a favorite thing to do with children, is to jump twelve times so they will get taller next year the higher you jump the taller you grow. The loud noises and sounds of merrymaking are not only meant to celebrate the coming of the New Year but are also supposed to drive away bad spirits.
Around 12:15 am, the noise stops and the air is filled with human voice and the family starts to eat a thanksgiving feast called Media Noche, it is believe that we should put as much food on the table so that next year you will have food all year round. Twelve round fruits should be on the table as it is a sign of prosperity for the next twelve months. There is also a midnight mass celebration to welcome the New Year and to thank God for all His blessings.
- The noise and the firecrackers is belive to drive the evil spirit away and make the New Year bountiful and blessed.
- You should put coins/money in your pocket so that next year will be prosperous.
- You should open all the windows, doors lights so that all the graces will come to your home as you welcome the New Year.
- Some believe that you have to wear polka dots shirts or dress because it symbolise money, and it must have a deep pocket and filled with money bills and coins and jingled it at the stroke of midnight for good luck .
- Some people pay off their debts in the hope that they will not be saddled with debt throughout the year.
It is also a favorite thing to do with children, is to jump twelve times so they will get taller next year the higher you jump the taller you grow. The loud noises and sounds of merrymaking are not only meant to celebrate the coming of the New Year but are also supposed to drive away bad spirits.
Around 12:15 am, the noise stops and the air is filled with human voice and the family starts to eat a thanksgiving feast called Media Noche, it is believe that we should put as much food on the table so that next year you will have food all year round. Twelve round fruits should be on the table as it is a sign of prosperity for the next twelve months. There is also a midnight mass celebration to welcome the New Year and to thank God for all His blessings.
Manigo at Masaganang Bagong Taon Sa Inyong Lahat !!!
A Happy and Prosperous New Year To All !!!
Here are a few fruits:
Apples, Pears, Oranges Pineapple, Banana, Water melon, Kiwi, Punkan, Cantaloupe
Longans and SweetTamarind, Mango Seedless Grapes, Papaya, strawberry
There are so many sweet and round fruits its ok to have them as long as you have 13 kind of fruits for the New Year! Remember no sour fruits! if possible all sweets.
Maligayang Pasko !!
- Christmas in the Philippines
The celebration of Christmas in the Philippines is quite different from the other countries of the world, it is the longest of the Philippine festivities stretching for over 3 weeks.
Philippines christmas and new year celebrations are INDEED different from all the other countries. The simbang gabi is spiritual enlightenment and i hope the youngs of today will continue the tradition. The new year celebration is really with a big BANG from the firecrackers and guns. The hospitals are preparing for great number of casualties every year. This should stop and the youngs should be more iniative to celebrate new year with a BETTER AND BIGGEST BANG aside from causing harms. ENJOY THE BLESSINGS OF 2009....HAPPY NEW YEAR PHILIPPINES
