Round fruits, steamed ‘lapu-lapu’ will bring you luck
Displaying 12 types of round fruits on the table on New Year’s Eve has become a pamahiin (superstition) in many Filipino households as pampasuwerte (for good luck).
It’s rooted in the practices of the Chinese in celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar. This 2025, Lunar or Chinese New Year falls on Jan. 29.
There are several food-related Chinese New Year beliefs that supposedly attract good luck, feng shui expert Edgar Pascual tells Lifestyle in an interview. His shop, Niyo Treasures Feng Shui, is located at the extension building of 1 Cirq in Antipolo City.
For starters, he says, the house’s main door should be adorned with mini Mandarin oranges, commonly referred to as kiat-kiat, and a pineapple.
Then the homeowners will ring in the new year by getting an orange to roll inside the main door, going to the kitchen and other parts of the dwelling place. If the house has a second or more floors, the fruit has to be rolled step by step on the stairway until it reaches the very top.
In the dining room, Pascual points out, the table has to be lavishly laden with food items, both for consumption and display, to symbolize an overflowing supply of food the whole year.
The celebration meal must include steamed lapu-lapu (red grouper), as the fish’s color is deemed lucky. It has to be steamed, so its size won’t change even after cooking. Ideally, the fish has been deboned beforehand to eliminate the need to flip it over when one side has been consumed. Flipping a fish over is considered bad luck in Chinese culture.
Chicken can be added to the menu because, Pascual explains, the sign of the rooster is lucky this Year of the Wood Snake. He suggests to serve a dish that entails cooking an entire chicken, from head to feet.
Other must-haves for eating on Chinese New Year are tikoy to “ensure that the family will stick together,” and chiffon cake “for a smooth-sailing year” for all family members.
For display, Pascual suggests opting for the seedless variety if watermelon is included in the selection of round fruits. He explains that the black seeds in the regular watermelon negate the good luck that the round and red fruit brings.
The feng shui expert reminds people not to forget to display on the table a pineapple, which symbolizes good fortune. The same goes for gabi (taro) and ginger. He suggests choosing the large ones to attract more prosperity.
