New Year Traditions

I have listed our Christmas traditions here. Please allow me to share our family's new year traditions today.

SPRING CLEANING
I always do spring cleaning before the new year strikes. The hubby is such a keeper of things of all sorts so we actually have so many unnecessary things at home. I have yet to completely convince him that "less is more" but I am slowly getting there. To make my spring cleaning plan a success every year end, I normally do it when the hubby is not around. I get rid of so many "rubbish" without his knowledge and most of the time, I end up not getting into trouble because the truth is, he doesn't even remember most of the things he keep for the sake of keeping.



TWELVE FRUITS

To ring in another year of abundance, I have adopted this Chinese tradition of buying 12 fruits (preferably but not necessarily round). 12 represents the 12 months of the year and the fruits are believed to assure good fortune to the family members all year round.



WINDOWS AND LIGHTS
I learned from a Chinese relative that opening all the windows and doors of your house before the first second of the new year strikes will invite the flow of blessings to your home. I also made it a habit to turn on all the lights to symbolize a bright looking new year ahead, literally and figuratively.



MAKE NOISE

Another tradition I adopted from my Chinese bloodline is creating a noise to ring in the new year to ward off misfortune and drive away evil spirits. Since we are not into firecrackers, we make noise by hitting tin cans, metal pots and basins or blowing a horn. My kids had a blast!



WATCH FIREWORKS

Hubby and I used to watch fireworks during new year but for the past few years, we just watch it on TV with the kids.


KIDS JUMPING
This is a silly tradition but it is something I remember doing when I was a child so I also let my kids do the same. Jumping at the strike of midnight is believed to help the kids grow taller.


ALL THINGS ROUND

This is a newly adopted tradition I learned from a fellow blogger. Bubble making! Haha! Just kidding. This tradition actually revolves more on the ROUND thing. We also ate doughnuts and round chocolates apart from playing round bubbles. Other families also throw coins for the kids to pick and pocket not just for fun but for goodluck. :D


Every new year, we opt to have a simple meal as a way of toning down from all the good food from Christmas noche buena. Our all time favourite is the chicken macaroni soup. It never fails to warm our tummies while waiting for the new year to strike. What about you? What are your new year traditions?