New Year's Eve traditions

New Year's Eve traditions

I was born and raised in the Philippines where we had a number of traditions or pamahiins as we called them surrounding New Year's Eve. Just wanted to share some of them:

1. Jump as high as you can at the stroke of midnight.
This was supposedly to make you grow so you'd be taller that year. As a member of a clan who are mostly vertically challenged (pandak, punggok or what have you), my cousins and I never failed to follow this tradition. But alas, to no avail. We are still as vertically challenged as can be!

2. Wear something that has polka dots.
The polka dots are supposed to represent money. In wearing as many polka dots in your body as you can possibly have, this is supposed to bring in money for the new year. As I was growing up, I remember thinking that if polka dots connoted coins and were to bring in money, wouldn't it be much better to wear stripes so you'd earn your money in bills instead of lousy coins or change?

3. Serve round foods for New Year's Eve.
The same principle as the polka dots. Round = coins = wealth for the new year. So, we made sure to have grapes, oranges at home. I think there's a variation of this tradition that calls for 7 pieces of round foods. I am not sure what it means or if I'm mistaken.

4. Keep all windows and doors open at the stroke of midnight.
This is supposedly to let the good luck into the home. This is really impractical. In the Philippines where firerackers abound, opening the windows and doors mean letting in all the soot coming from the firecrackers and pyrotechnics. Here in the U.S., it means letting the cold air into a warm house. Not very inviting at all!

5. Turn on all the lights of the house.
I personally did not grow up with this tradition. But the family I married into (i.e. my hubby's family) observes this. I guess this is supposed to bring in luck too.

6. Make as much noise as you can.
That explains the many noisemakers that crop up during this time of the year in the Philippines. Aside from the booming firecrackers, there's the torotot( like a horn made of cardboard), the wooden machine gun-like toys for the kids. I think the noise is supposed to drive away bad luck so you won't have any in the coming year.

7. Make a toast at the stroke of midnight.
I don't know what the significance of this is. Or if this is simply a family tradition. We pop open a bottle or two of champagne and clink our glasses to toast the New year.

Do you have any traditions of your own?