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What a lovely day today! Another year to fill in with love and joy. Hello, my dear Hive Friends! Hopefully, all of us here are safe and sound after our New Years' Eve party and fun! It's my first time posting here in this community, and pleasure to know and be friends with all of you!


https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/selflessgem/23viCgieYvB5E1vb1gpq1Dbi43hhPb1Q7sEceaKVQjM7dgu2x7ECVbVYaurodnMBRAYKU.png<center>*Image edited in Canva*</center>New Years' celebration is what almost all of us are waiting for. It is time for us to prepare for the next years to come and to look back at what happened in 2022.

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<center>**WHAT DO WE USUALLY DO AND PREPARE DURING NEW YEAR?**</center>

I am sneaking into one of the traditions of our family. Every year my parents always prepare something for New Year's Eve - buying 12 different kinds of round fruits, cooking sweets/desserts, cooking a dozen of eggs, serving the all-time favorite long-life food- *pancit* (local dialect), preparing the prosperity bowl, and putting a bunch of bananas at the doorstep. 

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It has been said that preparing these will give you good luck in the next years. Yes, probably it gives good luck to our family, though we are not becoming rich until now at least we are still surviving and eating meals thrice a day. Even if the foods we serve at the table are not that special, I still consider them a blessing.

 
Every family has its own belief and traditions being followed. And for us, my parents got this belief from our ancestors. Since I was young, my parents believe in this kind of tradition, and up until now.

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**1. BUNCH OF BANANAS AT THE DOORSTEP**
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Days before New Year's Eve, my parents would place a bunch of bananas in front of the house with its stalk. Not round one, but believe that having this bunch of bananas at the doorstep will also give us a bunch of blessings throughout the year. Given that we have banana plants, we prepare mature ones for the New Year. 

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**2. BELIEVING IN ROUND FRUITS**
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Another, they will do their best to prepare the 12 different kinds of round fruits placed in a white round basin or white cloth. According to my parents, preparing these fruits will give us more blessings throughout the year since round represents timeliness and infinity. As such, those round fruits represent endless blessings throughout the entire year.

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**3. COOKING SWEETS AND OTHER FOODS - SYMBOLIZING GOOD FORTUNES AND GOOD HEALTH**
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During the celebration, my parents will not let it pass without any sweets prepared on the table. And yes, my mother will always cook *Biko* (local dialect). What is it like? Biko is a Filipino delicacy that is something sticky mixed with coconut syrup. It symbolizes the stickiness in a family. Meaning, whatever challenges that may come in the whole year round, the family will always be there for each other. 

Next, my parents will also prepare dozen of cooked eggs and pancit (local dialect which believes that will give us long life). The dozen cooked eggs and pancit will be eaten during the Media Noche. The eggs symbolize good health while the *pancit* symbolizes long life. 

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**4. OUR PROSPERITY BOWL**
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Aside from that, with the presence of social media nowadays, my parents got the idea of preparing a prosperity bowl. The uncooked sticky rice, uncooked eggs, and money tied with red ribbons are placed in a bowl. The prosperity bowl symbolizes good fortune. 

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<center>**ON THE NEW YEAR'S EVE COUNTDOWN**</center>



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We don't have that grandiose celebration during New Year. We always made our New Year's Eve celebration simple yet exciting for everyone. I always celebrate my New Year with my family and the community. Sometimes my siblings will visit us and spend the New Year with us. But this year I am spending my New Year with my parents only because my siblings were not able to go home because an emergency comes in. So, we only cooked food enough for the three of us.


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While waiting for the Media Noche, it is always a yearly activity of the community to prepare games with prices for kids, teens, and families. This activity was handed down from generation to generation. 


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Every time this activity will come, the community will plan to have caroling from the different houses to raise funds for the said activity. I remember when I was young, we always attend this caroling and eventually joined the games on New Year's Eve. It's a fun activity for everybody. This activity was created so that the families will not feel drowsy while waiting for midnight and a sort of countdown for everyone. 



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<center>***Kids playing games***</center>

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/selflessgem/23xAcSaDUMXdkLT3TVUtLzCBv9BwJZWgGxXdU9hVbDZCMC1em64QuP61rAcEqMLrCyNij.jpg

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/selflessgem/23uR32xfHodhgfNWUYETfq5GRHZPdsvTQY8KZVYESUx992EYp5fQrxpLgCZ6SeQTyiMXp.jpg<center>***Teens enjoying the game***</center>
Looking at the faces of the people attending the activity, I see the gladness on their faces. 

As we celebrate the New Year, we should always bear in mind that whatever challenges might come along the way, we should always be strong and ready to face them. Helping one another in the family is the best thing to do. For sure good luck and good fortunes will be given. 


Yes, beliefs are always there as a guide for us, yet, we should not depend on our future on these beliefs, instead, we should move and do something as well. Good fortunes will not be given to us easily. It is a matter of action and prayer, perseverance, and determination to reach for your goals. Be a blessing to everyone! 

Thank you for reading and supporting my blog😊. Wishing everyone a wonderful and prosperous New Year. Let's get the ball rolling! Wish you all the best for 2023!



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