FOOD NEWS
The Meaning Behind Eating Round Fruit On New Year's
By Jonathan Kesh
Depending on where you live, New Year's Eve traditions can vary, and one commonly done in the Philippines involves eating many different round-shaped fruits.
Round fruits such as apples, oranges, and grapes are said to resemble coins, and eating them is believed to set you up for a prosperous new year.
The tradition often calls for 12 (and sometimes 13 or even 14) different fruits to be set out on New Year's Eve and eaten over the next few days for good luck.
The 12 fruits symbolize the months in a calendar year, and the additional fruits are thought to bring more luck or honor to the previous year and the future.
Eating 12 round fruits is likely a variation of an old Spanish tradition where you eat a grape for each bell toll when the clock strikes midnight to bring luck for the new year.
Spanish colonists likely brought the tradition to the Philippines, and there, it evolved into a broader version involving many different round fruits.