New Year Prosperity and Good Luck Traditions

Here in the Philippines a lot of cultures and traditions have been adopted. These can be seen especially during the New Year celebration. Starting from December 30 people are already flocking to the market to buy fruits. You might be asking, are fruits part of the diner table during the celebration? Do we get crazy over fruits every time New Year comes? Let me share with you the reason behind the fruit craze during this time.

12 Round Fruits

It is a tradition here in the Philippines to collect 12 different types of round fruits during the New Year. This is a Spanish tradition that has been adopted in our country. It is said that this will bring prosperity in the coming year. There is a different version that requires 12 grapes but the version that has been adapted for centuries now is the 12 round fruits.

You may ask why 12? The tradition requires 12 because we have 12 months in a year. Having 12 fruits will give you prosperity the whole year-round.

Why is it requiring round fruits only? The round fruits symbolize gold and silver coins. Not only that wearing polka dot clothing during the new year increases your prosperity chances.

Meaning behind each fruit.

Apples represent peace and harmony.
Pineapples are for good fortune.
Grapes represent cash.
Oranges represent gold.

These are just some of the fruit representations as said by some Feng Shiu experts.

Bananas are not part of the list but people still buy them and also my aunt asked us to buy some.

These are called castañas in our country are also known as chestnuts. These are roasted chestnuts which are very popular during this time of year. My wife loves them but I'm not fond of eating them. For me, it tastes like sweet potato.

Lucky Charms

These are rice grains made into a charm. Adapted from the Chinese and used during Chinese New Year. We can see them being sold as early as now all over the market. It is said that it brings good luck and prosperity. You can hang it on your door so all the good luck and prosperity will enter as the New Year comes.

More lucky charms are sold and people buy them as the year comes to an end.

Since 2022 is the year of the tiger you can see tiger characters in these charms. I was told that these bring good luck and fortune.

Firecrackers Replaced by Horns

In the past years, our country is notorious when it comes to firecrackers. Some are even close to the explosive power of dynamite. During New Year Celebration outside is like a warzone with all the smoke and explosions everywhere. Not only that as there are a lot of casualties, people losing fingers and limbs due to the powerful firecrackers.

These days no more firecrackers are sold as the local government has prohibited them. Instead, horns and trumpets have replaced the dangerous firecrackers.

Why do you need to make noise during New Year? Firecrackers during the celebration are a tradition from the Chinese and making noise is to drive the evil spirits away.

It is much better to use trumpets to drive the evil spirits. It is safer and saves a lot of limbs. For the past years, very few cases have been reported of firecracker accidents. Those who probably bought them from underground sellers. The day will come when the firecracker will be completely gone during the celebration.

Here is the pump horn that we bought to make a lot of noise during the celebration. I have been annoying my wife all day with the noise from the horn.

Thank you for joining us today.
I wish you all prosperity, good luck, and a very Happy New Year ahead!

All photos are original and taken with

Lumix GX85 and 12-32mm