Ranking Filipino New Year traditions from worst to best
As the 31st draws near, families have begun preparing for their New Year’s celebrations—from purchasing fireworks and trumpets to deciding on their Media Noche spread. However, for Filipino households, celebrating the New Year is more than just commemorating the incoming brand new chapter; it is also about welcoming as much luck as possible into their lives, inspired by Chinese traditions and beliefs.
But, from skipping certain dishes to preparing a bowl of round fruits, some Filipino New Year traditions are simply rooted in superstition. Here, we rank them from worst to best.
Scatter coins around the house
Coins symbolize wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. Scattering them around the house in the New Year is tantamount to welcoming those in your life. The noise they generate also wards off evil spirits and negative energies.
But if we’re being honest, keep the coins and don’t make a mess. You’d be better off saving them for your daily commutes. And if anything, don’t waste money.
Don’t clean
New Year’s celebrations are all about welcoming luck into your home. It is believed that cleaning can lead you to inadvertently sweep away all the luck and good fortune you’ve accumulated. We see the logic, but don’t let that superstition stop you from a clean slate in both body and spirit (and home).
Open everything
Opening your doors and windows is equated to letting good fortune enter your home. Meanwhile, keeping all your lights on symbolizes prosperity and acts as a ward against evil forces. Seems harmless enough, but imagine all the dust you’re also welcoming in—not to mention your electric bill when everything’s said and done. Now that’s one way of welcoming in the new year.
Unlucky dishes
Media Noche spreads are all about abundance and good food, but there are certain dishes you have to avoid: chicken and turkey, as their wings symbolize luck flying away; crustaceans that move backwards or sideways such as crabs and shrimps, which can lead to a stagnant year; and bottom-feeders like halibut, eel, and catfish, equated to accumulating less fortune, or scrounging for scraps.
Ignore that, though, and eat what you want.
Fill up the cupboards
Filling up your cupboards, rice bins, and water containers symbolizes assuring abundance in the new year. Meanwhile, keeping them empty could mean poverty. Fill them up if you can. But if it proves too costly, it’s better to start 2026 without your finances in the red.
Prepare sweet sticky rice for Media Noche
Having sticky rice dishes for your Media Noche meal is said to strengthen family bonds. There’s really no drawback to doing this. In fact, having either biko or puto bumbong is a wonderful treat to add to your Media Noche grocery list.
Have a bowl of 12 fruits on the dinner table
Round fruits such as apples and oranges symbolize wealth and prosperity due to their coin-like shape. Do avoid bringing in fruits with thorns like pineapple and durian, though—their thorns symbolize obstacles that can hamper you in the new year.
Eat 12 grapes under the table
Originating from Spanish tradition, eating 12 grapes at midnight symbolizes bringing in luck in the new year. However, Filipino beliefs have modified this tradition, with the “under the table” aspect, which is said to grant you a soulmate in the following year.
It’s a harmless tradition that almost seems like a fun activity for the family. And if you’re a hopeless romantic, there’s no harm in trying.
Wear polka dots
Polka dots, like round fruits, are shaped like coins and symbolize wealth and prosperity. Show up to the Media Noche in your absurdly dotted attire and put all the basic reds to shame. But if you don’t have polka dots in the wardrobe, you can also wear the Pantone Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer.
Jump at midnight
And our all-time favorite: the last-ditch effort of every vertically-challenged person we know. Just be sure to keep expectations in check. I personally know people who grew up disappointed because they didn’t grow any taller after doing it.
