CEBU CITY, Philippines— Chinese New Year traditions have been practiced for ages.
And in the recent episode of CDNPlay! we got the chance to talk to millennial Chinese-Pinoys or Chinoys as we fondly call them.
Siblings Jeff and Elisha Mendoza together with their cousins John Mendoza and Fritzie Lim shared their Chinese New Year traditions and why they still practice them all these years.
“We have many but one that’s very common is when we gather in one room. One table for the adults and one table for the young ones,” says Fritzie.
They also shared that they always prepare eight kinds of round fruits.
“It’s always eight because it is a lucky number,” says John.
One tradition that they still do is to open all the doors and windows of their home and switch on all the lights when the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s eve. This they say is believed to welcome good and positive energy throughout the year.
“We also roll oranges or any round fruits from our main door. That signifies good luck,” says Elijah.
But along with all these traditions, food is the core of their celebration.
“Strong part of the celebration is good food that is how we stay connected,” says John.
And in their family, they take pride in making the famous Hokkien lumpia.
“Hokkein lumpia or fresh lumpia wherein the older generation takes pride in how they made their lumpia with all the needed ingredients and makes them as big as possible,” laughs Fritzie.
But they say that all these traditions are hard to keep and remember especially for the young Chinoys. But they try to keep and practice them anyway.
“Tradition is not anymore a concept of beliefs but a concept of remembrance. We lose our traditions we lose our memories where we came from and we lose our identity,” explains John. /rcg