Friday, January 1, 2010

new year's traditions

We all have our New Year's traditions: a bar or club that you hit every year without fail, kissing someone at the stroke of midnight, wearing a certain colour or pattern - whatever floats your boat really. And I have mine. Well, they're not exactly traditions, more like things my family tends to do that I've just gone along with, or have gotten so used to that it's kind of what I do. And maybe they'll be integrated into my own familyin some way or another - way down the track.

DECLUTTER.
The new year should be free of clutter, mess and unwanted things so a quick clean and tidy of the areas you inhabit should be done. It's a new year, a clean slate, and your surroundings should reflect it. This year, I didn't do this so I'm starting 2010 off wrong aren't I?

DIARY/ORGANISER/PLANNER.
I'm big on stationary, and a staple has always been a diary to keep me organised in school, work and social life. I usually tend to plan things out so carefully in the first quarter of the year, and the it gets neglected for the rest of the year. Before the new year rolls in, I like to have a diary or know very well that I will be getting one. This year, I tried to find something pretty that I liked in week to view format. It took a while, and I finally settled on an A5 Debden Designer Diary with a textured mocha cover. Having a diary or planner I guess helps me feel on track and organised, even if I'm probably far from that =]

THIRTEEN FRUITS.
So the idea is to have twelve kinds of ripe fruit in the house for the new year, symbolising a bounty of food in the household for the year to come. So that's one fruit for every month. I know quite a few families who do this actually, but I don't know if it's just a Filipino thing - is it? Well my mother likes to get thirteen, so there's even more luck in store for us. This year we have: pineapple, white nectarines, grapes, cherries, strawberries, apples, oranges, kiwi, avacado, watermelon, rockmelon, grapefruit and bananas.

CELEBRATION OF THE NEW YEAR.
One of my older cousins once said: "it doesn't matter where you plan on going, you see in the new year with your family". And it's been like that for as long as I can remember. We begin trickling into my Aunt's house in Woodcroft from about 1900hrs, eat and pretty much chill for the entire time until the 0000hrs fireworks. From there we split up depending on what we want to do: watch the harbour fireworks on the tv, go out on the street with sparklers and celebrate with the neighbours or go down to the lake to watch the fireworks there.

My life has been filled with memories from these traditions, and although they are a bit on the quiet side, they are what we do every year without fail and something amusing always pops up, be it accidentally setting fire to things with cheap sparklers, or getting attacked by homemade fireworks. They are my family afterall, and I wouldn't have it any other way =]

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