Firecrackers and other Filipino Practices for the New Year

Firecrackers can bring both joy and disaster, depending on what you value most. The Department of Health has announced that the tally for casualties and firecracker related incidents already reached over 150 cases days before the actual celebration of the New Year’s Eve.

The DoH also reported that firecracker accidents in Central Luzon are higher by only 19 percent from the region's five-year average. So is your health really worth risking for good luck and scaring bad luck on New Year’s Eve?

The average Filipino usually spends around P 1,000.00 – P 3,000.00 for firecrackers to welcome the year with a literal bang. But on some occasions, instead of good luck, some Filipinos receive the exact opposite of the bargain.

Over the years, there have been reports of burning homes and villages, amputation and even death that are firecracker related.  Worst, even economically depressed families opt to buy firecrackers instead of buying food just to have good luck for the coming year.

In spite of the yearly ban on firecrackers many Filipinos continue to see lighting of firecrackers as the traditional means to greet and celebrate the New Year’s Eve.

But New Year’s celebration in the Philippines is not limited to or all about dangerous firecrackers. Being naturally superstitious, Filipinos have a lot of practices and activities that they believe can bring them good luck for the coming year.

Among these practices include putting money or coins in your pocket for a prosperous year. Filipinos also believe that wearing polka dot shirts or red dresses will bring them good luck. There is also the practice of putting 12 round fruits on the table which is also believed by Filipinos to bring them luck for the 12 months of the year.