New Year Filipino Observances (Pamahiin)

We are currently here in the Philippines (Baguio, to be exact) celebrating the holidays.  It's been a rough start unfortunately, as the three of us became ill the few days after we have arrived.  But we are feeling much better now, and hopefully this will continue on as we have a lot of things we'd like to do while we're here.

In the meantime, a segment on Filipino customs caught my eye on the morning TV show awhile ago.  It's about our pamahiin for welcoming the New Year.  It is interesting to note that we have actually been observing most of these too back in New Zealand, but due to some special circumstances we could not, as explained below.


1. Collect 12 different kinds of round fruits for prosperity on all 12 months of the new year - this one was especially difficult to do in New Zealand because there is only so much variety in the market: apples, oranges, lemons, cherries, kiwifruit, grapes, watermelon ... while here in the Philippines, add guava, atis, chesa, santol, chico, rambutan, aratilis, duhat... depends on the season too I guess but we have lots more choices.

2. Wear polka dot clothes - My wife has a polka dot shirt!

3. Have spaghetti or pancit on the table for long life

4. Place coins in your pocket and shake it when 12 midnight comes around so you will have money all year round!  Make sure you also have paper bills in your wallet or you'd end up with loads of coins only!

5. Jump around at 12 midnight!  This is especially for the kids; they will grow taller in the following year.  Adults can also share in the fun, and at the same time makes jingling of the coins more fun!

6. Open all doors and windows and turn on all the lights by 12 midnight to usher in good luck.

7. Make lots of noise to drive away bad luck!

8. Make sure your rice container is filled to the brim so it will not run dry in the new year.  My Nanay always takes note of this.

9. Standing at the main doorway, we scatter coins all over the living room, followed by the other rooms.  There is a mad dash for getting these coins because they are considered lucky.

These make our New Year celebration all the more fun and special, especially with family and friends around.

Only a few more days to go... advanced Happy New Year to all!

Philippine-born Kiwi youngster sets NZ weightlifting records

Youngster Lou Guinares has set six national records while being the first New Zealand weightlifter in action at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

A delighted Guinares, 20, set both junior and senior records in the 56kg class at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex.

He lifted 94kg in the snatch and followed up with 124kg in the clean and jerk.

His combined total of 218kg placed him seventh in the 12-strong field.

For the Philippines-born Guinares, who has been in the sport for only two years, the Commonwealth Games was his biggest competition to date he described it as both "nerve-wracking" and "awesome".

Read the rest of this article at stuff.co.nz

Stamps evolved

If there was one thing I missed doing back in the Philippines that I rediscovered here in New Zealand, it's the visit to the Post Office. Or the Post Shop, as they call it here. Post Offices hold a certain anticipation for me as I either send off a letter or package, all the while imagining how it will travel across oceans and how it will bring a smile to the recipient. There's a sort of build-up of anticipation that you cannot experience with the spontaneity of e-mail.

The Post Shop here is rather different from the Philippines' though. For one, it provides a more diverse range of services: from banking (yes you heard it right. KiwiBank owns Post Shop), renew your car's registration, and post some mail through.

But I digress. I'd like to talk about the stamps.


I'm a sentimental old fool, aren't I? But buying stamps also reminded me of my colourful like as a philatelist way back in high school with two of my best friends. We'd scour stores that sell stamps by bulk and swap or keep them. I made my high school report based on stamp collecting (which is very memorable because I placed one of my rare German war stamps along with a valued few from my collection expecting my report to be returned, and it wasn't).

Well, back to the present. My wife needed some stamps and so I bought 5 dollars worth of 50-cent stamps. And I was given this set of stamps in a booklet. I was initially puzzled about it because I did not see perforations. And then I deduced the stamps must be sticker-type.

So, if they are stickers, are they qualified to be stamps? It will definitely take some getting used to. However, the "regular" stamps are still available over the counter.

I tried searching for more information about these new stamps and I found this service from Post Shop: personalize your stamp! Choose a favorite photo and you can use this for your own set of stamps for a base price of $20.90 for 20 stamps! Amazing, isn't it?

Now, would that qualify for a collectible stamp as well? One thing's for sure though. It would be a nifty pasalubong for friends back home who love to collect stamps!

New Year, New Zealand (and the Greedy man's gift exchange)

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!

We spent New Year's eve at our good friends Pinkee and Ricky's home, along with Myra and Jerry's family. We had a blast! That's relatively speaking, of course. Here in New Zealand, I learned that you need to get permission from the Council if you are going to use fireworks. This is because a huge majority of the structures here is made of wood; not to mention the abundance of greenery as well. Couple that with Wellington's reputation for strong winds and you have a recipe for disaster when you add even a bit of a spark in the mix.

But for someone who has celebrated practically all his New Years from the Philippines where fireworks start as early as the sun sets and continues on til the early morning of the first day of the year, meeting the new year with relative silence is something very new. It's a great thing that we were with friends to do the countdown with, ensure that all the lights in the house are turned on, and jump all over the place at the strike of 12.

We even had the customary shower of coins. Incidentally, we were able to bring with us a pouch of Philippine coins, and these found themselves scattered on the floor soon enough and the scramble for the lucky new year coins was mingled with laughter as they realized they were holding coins from our native home.

We had a Hawaiian theme in mind. I just realized though that I left my flowery shirt back in the Philippines and so we settled for origami leis.
On New Year's day, we were invited by good friends Debbie and Bill's family for a day at the beach. So lunchtime found us at Titahi Bay in Porirua, Wellington. It was a clear, sunny day but the wind made it quite chilly indeed. The kids love the sand and the water. We arrived a few minutes before lunch and surprisingly, we were the only ones around but an hour later, the beachgoers started arriving and there was quite a small crowd of kids and surfers about.




The greedy man's gift exchange
I promised to share this nice gimmick for gift sharing which we did last Christmas so here it is.

Everybody joining in the fun agrees to bring a present. Usually a minimum gift value is set. Numbers are then drawn and number 1 gets to pick a present and unwrap in front of everybody. Then, number 2 can either get the gift of number 1, or pick a new present which is opened once more. Number 3 can get either the gift of number 1, number 2, or pick a new gift. And so the process is repeated until the last person either gets a gift from another person or opens the last gift. The person without a gift gets to open the last one. A gift can be taken only 3 times.

Nice huh? It's a lot of fun.

And so goes our first ever Christmas and New Year celebration here in New Zealand. I wish you and your family the best of all there is to come.

Happy New Year!

Time flies when you're having fun. And these past few days flew like a hurricane! Surely it would have been a lot different had it not been for the new friends we have made in our 3 months' stay here in Wellington. Rather than staying cooped up in our apartment and thinking of what we ought to be doing at this time of the year back in the Philippines, our friends kept us occupied. We would all go to the shopping centres (not that we have the budget to shop, but it's great to buy our necessities at discounted rates), they would tour us around, and more importantly, they invited us to their homes and shared their blessings for the yuletide season.

Last Noche Buena, we stayed at Glen and Cory's home. We arrived in mid-afternoon and we were glad we did, because we were able to help out a bit with the preparations. I most especially enjoyed preparing the maki, which Glen instructed me how to make first before entrusting me with the batch as he proceeded with the barbecue.

Some friends and family members arrived as well. We had a very hearty dinner, followed by a rather fun way of distributing gifts. They actually had a Santa and a Santa's helper costume for the gift hosts for the night! That was fun. We were delighted that we also received gifts! It was so thoughtful of them and we appreciate it. Round 2 of the gift exchange was a game called the Greedy Man's Gift Exchange. It was a lot of fun. I will discuss the mechanics of that one in a future post.

We stayed on til Noche Buena, where we had the bounty from the barbie (nickname for barbecue grill), pavlova, salads, and loads more. Any attempt at dieting was promptly forgotten. The kids were still wide awake at 2AM trying to decipher a board puzzle they received as a gift when we left for home.

On Christmas Day, we were invited to dinner at Ricky's and Pinkee's home. Myra and Jerry and family were also there. We had a wonderful dinner and exchange of gifts. The laughter and chatter continued well into the midnight.

I feel so blessed that we have met a lot of good friends here in Wellington. We actually have other invitations that we were no longer able to go to; we regret not being able to visit but we will, one of these days. We were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity shown to us. I wish that everyone will be blessed with good health and prosperity in the coming year, and that we will also be given the opportunity to pay it forward soon. This is one December I will never forget.

Happy New Year, everyone!

New Year Revelry

Before moving on to 2008, I would like to share some photos from our simple yet happy New Year celebrations!

We had family visit us on New Year's eve; here's Jo-Lo with cousins and Tita.

Brother-in-law Jojo with wife Arlene and kid JayJay spent the New Year's with us.

Jo-Lo had a grand time with the neighborhood kids.

We had fountains and some simple fireworks to liven up the night. Jo-Lo can't get enough of the fountains!

At the stroke of 12 midnight, everybody jumped! Then my wife welcomed the New Year with coins and sweets

The Chinese said seafood on the table is considered lucky this year. Who's to argue? So aside from the local favorites, we also served fish, shrimps and squid. It was one extraordinary media noche and we loved it!

Jo-Lo took this photo. He learns quickly in how to operate gadgets. I think he's taken after his dad.

Happy New Year! From Nick, Tina, and Jo-Lo