Reflection There are so many interesting Filipino superstitions or folk beliefs associated with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in the Philippines. Filipinos say you should observe the following customs and traditions to ensure that the New Year being welcomed is a prosperous one. Many of these superstitions bear a strong Chinese influence specially wearing Polka Dots cloths. According to Filipino folklore, circles symbolize future good luck and riches.No matter what we wear, though, New Year signifies a new beginning. Flipping open a fresh calendar, with its 12 pristine, as-yet-unmarked months, is perhaps one of the most universally hopeful acts we humans perform: finally, a chance to shrug off a year’s worth of worries, conflicts, and …show more content…
For countries that adopted the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is always celebrated on January 1 of each year. The date never changes. This is the New Year often associated with the countries of the West and those that follow the Catholic faith. I guess it won't hurt to follow the customs and traditions that have been handed down from generations. Most may seem silly, and you may have to experience a typical Filipino family New Year celebration to believe it. We have all been there, wearing ridiculous polka dots just to pump up our luck. If it didn't work this year, try wearing red underwear for love, green for money, or yellow for happiness. Maybe this will finally do the trick! New Year's Eve attires did not end with wearing polka-dots. It was also required that our New Year's Eve attire should be predominantly red. It was believed that the colour red is for good luck. Again, another trait we have imbibed from the Chinese whose custom is to hand out little red envelopes or "hong pao" during New Year. When I was young, I didn't care much about what my parents or grandparents made me wear on New Year's Eve. I just hated the fact that our family pictures made us look like the Von Trapp Family Singers - all wearing the same design of clothes - red with polka
Puerto Rico has many similar superstitions as the United States, as well some that are not as common. Some of the superstitions that are shared with the United States include black cats and walking under ladders bringing bad luck. Another similar one is that the number 13 can bring bad luck as well. Most high rise buildings in Puerto Rico do not have a thirteenth floor. The floor numbers jump from twelve to fourteen. Also, Tuesday the 13th is the equivalent of the United States Friday the 13th, however many in Puerto Rico view both days as a day full of bad luck. Some other interesting superstitions begin on New Years. These superstitions begin with throwing a bucket of water out the front door at midnight. To many in Puerto Rico, this symbolizes throwing out the all of the bad events of the previous year and emptying out the past year for a fresh new year.
Long before the early 19th century, the idea of ceremony-specific clothing, particularly for a one-time event, was beyond the financial means of the vast majority of the population. People tended to wear their most fashionable garments, with no real consideration of one-time use or symbolism of color or style.
Henderson, Helene, and Sue Ellen Thompson. Holiday Symbols and Customs: A Guide to the Legend and Lore behind the Traditions, Rituals, Foods, Games, Animals, and Other Symbols and Activities Associated with Holidays and Holy Days, Feasts and Fasts, and Other Celebrations, Covering Ancient, Calendar, Religious, Historic, Folkloric, National, Promotional, and Sporting Events, as Observed in the United States and around the World. Detroit MI: Omnigraphics, 2009. Print.
What about other countries though? Is the Christmas season all about giving and receiving gifts? Are children in Spain rewarded by Santa with gifts and toys on Christmas Eve? In this essay we will look at what Christmas season means in Spain, and what traditions are prevalent in their culture. We will also look at the Christmas related traditions of Americans, and how those compare and contrast to those in Spain.
The Chinese usually celebrate the New Year in a period of 15 days. On the first day, the New Year is celebrated and the gods of heaven and earth are welcomed by the people. On the second day, the people pray to their ancestors and to the gods for good fortune in the coming year. During the third day, the Chinese stay inside the house, believing that it is unlucky to be outdoors. On the fourth day, Chinese families clean their homes, throw...
...as a very important day. Diwali; the word itself meaning “row of lights,” is another prominent Hindu holiday and occurs on what we know as New Year Eve—December 31st. It is a festival lights in which last for a five days. The lighting of candles signifies the welcoming of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Gambling is a norm on Diwali as it is seen as a way of assuring good luck for the upcoming year. The fourth day of Diwali is especially significant as it is the beginning of the lunar month of Karttika. On this particular day many celebrate religious customs to signify the New Year according to the Vikrama calendar (“Religion Facts,”n.p).
Another unique custom in Indonesia is the Walking Dead. When a person dies, it is important that they return to the village they were born in. Villages were far apart, and it would be difficult to carry the body over the rough terrain. People would help the dead to walk back to the birthplace. Roads and more availability of vehicles has made it easier to transport the corpse.
The Chinese New Year is a huge festival celebrated all over the country, it’s the most important festival celebrated on the calendar (13). The Chinese use a lunar calendar for their festivals so the date of the Chinese New Year is different each year (13). The date corresponds to the new moon in either late January or February (13). This is a time of good fortune and happiness. It is also considered the beginning of spring so; many also call it the spring festival (13).
Firstly, Hong Kong employees would get twelve paid days off to celebrate with the family and family. There is a tradition during Chinese New Year that the married couples gives red envelope to children or young adult that are not marry for good luck. The couple giving the red envelope to the children means they are wishing the children to have a good year. “It is best to keep the red envelopes for fifteen days in your pillow case and have the children sleep on it. This will bring good luck for the year for the children and wash all the bad luck away” (Sy, 2016). Not only China celebrates Chinese New Year; lot of countries celebrates Chinese New Years as well. Also “artists from different countries are happy to spend Chinese New Year with people around the world, so contribution to its celebration, which is key to Chinese culture going global.” (Hong, 2016) Chinese New Year is also very big in New York. In the past, the celebration parade is only in New York downtown before with lion and dragon dancing. However, now New York allow the celebration not be held in Lincoln Center and share the spirit to the entire New York City (Hong,
The first inhabitants of the Philippines arrived from the land bridge from Asia over 150,000 years ago. Throughout the years, migrants from Indonesia, Malaysia, and other parts of Asia made their way to the islands of this country. In the fourteenth century, the Arabs arrived and soon began a long tradition of Islam. Many Muslims are still living in the Philippines today.
“Just as you usher in lights, lanterns and other forms of illuminations to welcome the New Year, may the New Year usher in for you new hopes, dreams and aspirations.” (Quote) This is but one of the many greetings of Chinese New Year’s that the Chinese population share and just as we will be ushering in a new semester late January, in china they will be preparing to usher in the Chinese New Year which will fall on Jan. 28 2016. Even though it starts early in January, the Chinese people will be preparing by cleaning up their homes and shrines for the joyous celebration that will last 15 days. Although they don’t have a ball drop in Tokyo like we do in New York, they have far more traditions such as the passing of the red envelope that I will
The Chinese rely a lot on the Chinese calendar to determine the day of Chinese New Year. The Chinese
Those celebrating Diwali spend time with family and friends. They perform religious ceremonies to bring in wealth and prosperity for a new year, cook and eat delicious food, design rangolis, light up their lives by lighting diyas (small earthen lamps), candles and sometimes, by lighting fireworks.
The climate is dry and hot from March to May and wet during typhoon season from June to October. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino although there are several other dialects. As with many formerly colonized nations English is the language used for most business and legal transactions. Cantonese, and Mandarin are spoken by older members of the Filipino-Chinese community. Most Filipinos belong to the Roman Catholic faith. Filipinos also practice Islam and Buddhism. Of the 70 million people residing in these islands, 70% are farmers making agriculture the most important economic activity.
Have you ever wondered how the colors red, green, and gold came to be the Christmas colors that we all know and love? Even though it is not for certain where the idea for Christmas colors started, some believe people before Jesus such as Pagan gods came up with the idea. “As Christmas celebrations evolved over the centuries, these traditions echoed those of earlier times-some from before the time of Jesus, when pagan gods were honored (or appeased) with various customs, others from new cultural or even technological developments” (Jeffery). People also wonder how Christmas colors started, many think it is from various religions. “The traditional red and green colors of Christmas have a long and rich history rooted in both paganism and Christianity” (The Importance of Christmas Colors). People have many theories as to why they believe red, green, and gold are Christmas colors, Red: color of Santa’s coat, color of holly berries, and it symbolizes Jesus’s blood. Green: used to brighten up buildings, symbolizes eternal life, and it is a sign of long life. Gold: color of sunlight, gift brought to Jesus, and means warmth.