Tradition Meets Intention: A Filipino-American New Year

New Year’s Eve is a time for fresh starts, renewed intentions, and bold goals. For Filipinos, however, it’s also a night when cherished traditions and time-honored beliefs come alive.

Filipino New Year celebrations are filled with meaningful rituals, many influenced by Chinese and Spanish culture, centered on inviting prosperity, good health, unity, and joy into the coming year. Have you ever wondered what these traditions mean or where they come from?

Below is a helpful guide to classic Filipino New Year traditions, along with a few Filipino-American practices my family has lovingly added over the years. Who knows? Maybe one (or all) of these rituals will help usher in everything you’ve been dreaming of.

New Year’s Eve Traditions

Make as much noise as possible at midnight.
As the clock strikes twelve, Filipinos believe loud noises scare away evil spirits. Fireworks light up the sky while families bang pots and pans, the louder, the better!

Turn on all the lights.
A brightly lit home symbolizes a bright, hopeful year ahead.

Open all doors and windows.
This invites good fortune to enter the home. Some even open drawers and closets, too. (Yes, even if it’s cold, close them whenever you’re ready!)

Pay off debts and fill your pockets with money.
There’s a belief that whatever your financial state is at midnight will carry through the year. Many Filipinos make sure wallets and pockets are full.

Scatter coins around the house.
Coins placed on tabletops and inside drawers are believed to attract abundance and prosperity.

Clean the house before midnight.
Starting the year with a clean home symbolizes clarity, order, and fresh energy for the year ahead.

Children jump twelve times at midnight.
One jump for each month of the year, said to help children grow taller!

Wear polka dots.
Anything round represents prosperity, wealth, and abundance.

Food Traditions

Prepare 12 round fruits.
Each fruit represents a month of the year and should be displayed on the table by midnight. Round fruits symbolize riches and good luck. Avoid spiky fruits like pineapple or jackfruit, as they may symbolize challenges.

Eat 12 grapes at midnight.
Having grapes ready and eating one for each month is believed to bring good luck throughout the year. (Reminder: chew carefully!)

Eat sticky rice desserts.
Delicacies like bibingka and biko symbolize good fortune and togetherness. The belief is that just as the rice sticks, so will good luck, and family unity, throughout the year.

Eat pancit.
Long noodles represent long life and continued blessings.

On New Year’s Day

Don’t clean.
Sweeping or cleaning may symbolically sweep away the good fortune that entered the night before.

Don’t spend money.
The way you manage money on the first day of the year is believed to set the tone for your finances throughout the year.

Filipino-American Traditions We’ve Added

Growing up, my mom faithfully implemented many of these traditions, and now I’ve passed them on to my own family, along with a few modern twists:

Watch the Times Square Ball Drop
A classic New Year’s Eve tradition that brings excitement and togetherness.

The Midnight Kiss
Starting the year with a kiss is said to bring harmony and love in relationships.

Countdown to Midnight
A 10-second countdown builds excitement and helps kids prepare for their jumps and grapes (safely, of course!).

Write New Year’s Resolutions
Even my kids participate. Resolutions date back over 4,000 years to ancient Babylon, a reminder that intention-setting is deeply human.

Create a Vision Board
In the past, In Her Purpose has hosted vision board workshops focusing on health, wealth, success, and love. We’ve witnessed so many visions come to life, and we believe in continuing the practice. We can’t wait to announce our next workshop date, so stay tuned!

Are you already incorporating any of these traditions into your New Year’s celebration?
Which ones resonate with you, or have worked for you in the past?

We’d love to hear your stories. Share your traditions with us and let’s continue honoring culture, intention, and purpose, together.