The Quirkiest (and Most Fun) NYE Traditions I've Experienced Around The World

I've been fortunate enough to have had enough memorable New Years Eve experiences in three different continents with different people. This means I've thrown coins all over the living room while wearing red underwear and gobbling 12 grapes at the countdown, sporting my polka dotted outfit on New Year's Eve.

People are so quirky with their superstitions, you know? But when in Rome...or Manila, Barcelona, or Irving - celebrate with the people!

(ASIA) PHILIPPINES

Traditionally, most households stage a dinner party named Media Noche in their homes. My mom used to do this and her typical dishes included pancit, lumpia, and hamon (jamon in Spanish, ham in English). If we celebrated in Manila, we would have lechon, which is roasted pig, and it is usually considered as the centerpiece of the dinner table. 

Barbecued food is also an integral part of the menu. Most Filipinos follow a set of traditions that are typically observed during New Year's Eve. 

Included among these traditions is the customary habit of wearing clothes with circular patterns like polka dots.

This signifies the belief that circles attract money and fortune or other colorful clothing to show enthusiasm for the coming year. Throwing coins at the stroke of midnight is said to increase wealth that year. Filipino children were also told to jump 12 times at the stroke of midnight to increase their height. Yeah, that never really worked out for me because I'm barely 5 ft tall.

The Filipinos always "make it rain" on New Year's Eve with coins!

Wear Polka Dots to get RICH! Totally makes sense.

(EUROPE) SPAIN

It is traditional to eat twelve grapes, one on each chime of the clock before midnight. After spending NYE 1999 in Barcelona with my sister and brother-in-law, I've kept this tradition with my own family. 

Additionally, the Mexicans also follow similar traditions, but Michael and his family never did this. They pretty much followed the same American traditions.

Anyway, when I asked the Spaniards why they did that, I think they were too busy drinking and partying to explain the whole history to me, so I had to look up the following information on Google:

Just gobble up the grapes in twelve seconds! GO!

This tradition has its origins in 1909, when grape growers in Alicante thought of it as a way to cut down on the large production surplus they had had that year. Nowadays, the tradition is followed by almost every Spaniard, and the twelve grapes have become synonymous with the New Year. After the clock has finished striking twelve, people greet each other and toast with sparkling wine such as cava or champagne, or alternatively with cider.

They also wear red underwear for New Year's Eve. I was given a brand new pair as a gift when I was celebrating in Barcelona. I remember asking why they do this, but I don't remember what they said. 

Perhaps it was the vino....but anyway, once again, I looked it up and here is why: wearing red underwear dates back to the Middle Ages when it was not allowed to wear red garments. The color was associated with blood, evil, and witchcraft. 

However, people wore red anyway because in the dark 
winter, red was a symbol of life. They wore red undergarments to avoid the major punishment of wearing red – the gallows! Plus, I think red is a sexy color!

(NORTH AMERICA) USA

When I was ten years old, I got to spend NYE in Times Square with my whole family. It was crowded, scary, and fun! That was my first taste of the American New Year's Eve tradition! 

Now eating black eyed peas is my taste of the American New Year's Eve tradition, and it's supposed to bring good luck, too, right?I guess their shapes look like coins, which symbolized gaining wealth.

The food, not the band

CHINESE NEW YEAR

Last year, I got to celebrate Chinese New Year in Manila, which included lots of percussionists on the streets wearing their Dragon costumes and just dancing and being wild on the streets. The dragon dancing was pretty cool, and the red envelopes or packets they gave contain money of even numbers, usually given from the elder to the younger. I think I remember getting a red envelope last year, but I don't remember getting any money! HA! But that was a fun experience.

You can buy these at your neighborhood Asian store! They are so much fun!!!

IRVING, TEXAS NEW YEAR

Tonight the Pulidos are honoring our multicultural traditions by doing a little bit of everything. We ate some black eyed peas, we got our twelve grapes prepared, we're going to throw coins, and we're wearing red or red-like undergarments. We're going to watch the ball drop and then pass out into the New Year. T

he kids will play some Nerf wars and make a zombie video, and Mommy and Daddy will drink their Mommy and Daddy juice. Let's hope 2010 brings all of us a year of peace, prosperity, blessings, and much love!

Happy New Year, Maligayang Bagong Taon, y Feliz Ano Nuevo to all ya'll!

"Galaxies Away" from I've Had Enough of This: A Collection of Short Stories by me!

Prodded by her powerful desire for fame and fortune, she typed away at her manuscript through the brink of dawn. It felt lonely knowing something or nothing might come of this, but like someone standing at the edge of a cliff waiting to jump, she inhaled deeply and let the thrill of the unknown get to her.

Breathe deep, mama, breathe deep and take it in. Now let GO!

The room spun around her, galaxies rotated on their axis while the stars moved in their millennial ruts overhead. A car horn beeped outside, and the fall wind rustled the leaves, sending the curtains eerily swirling into the room, but she didn’t even notice.

Two hours later, or maybe it was a mere two minutes, she lost track of it, her hands slowed on the keyboard like a fading song. Blinking several times before looking around, she shook herself off the seductive trance and looked at the screen. It started with the desire for fame and fortune, from the hungry writer eager for the next commission, racing furiously to get to the finish line. A marathon. But now? Now it was a masterpiece. It was real. She sat there with content, staring lovingly at the work of art that has come to life and clicked on ‘save.’ She stood up, stretched, yawned, and crawled into bed, smiling as she drifted off in her peaceful slumber.

* * * * *

I’m really looking for a new client,” Anthony said matter-of-factly. Two years ago, he launched his independent record label that reached moderate success last year. He already had three major accounts in place, but the retainer fees still hadn’t come through, and it was already Thanksgiving week. “If Dave can’t close the deal with Tracks Recording by end of day today, then I’m definitely not going to get my commission before the end of the year.”

His jaws tightened as he glanced at the alarm clock, his nemesis. He even wrote a song for it that a little-known pop singer had sung into an independent label one hit wonder, and aptly named it “Reality is an Alarm Clock.” It was a good song, upbeat and catchy, but it didn’t quite deliver well with the public. Sometimes, he explained, even with the perfect packaging of a singer’s looks and talent, a producer’s skills and musical arrangements, and a kick-ass marketing platform, there was always that one little quirk, like a performer’s cheesy dance moves, that would nearly kill the entire album. So he was always busy looking for the next big thing.

”6:15, crap. We’re going to be late. The children’s book launch meeting is at 7:30.” He jerked up from the bed, and she missed him by a hair when she leaned closer to his side of the bed for her kiss. Ugh, why does he have to be such a mood killer? She pulled up the covers and shunned away any form of light in an attempt to recapture her writer’s high.

She refused to get sucked into this big ball of stress. She was lonely again. Or maybe she was longing for something else. Forget that, she thought. Just focus on you. Don’t let him get to you. As she recalled her intergalactic writing experience in her office, she realized with a smile that she had the power to rid herself of that solitary feeling. Each scattered idea flitting through her mind was a friend, a lover, a companion. Each was a moment that she wanted the world to share with her. Each bridged the space between the desire to create and its fulfillment.

“Shana, you need to get ready for your meeting. I can’t do this by myself because I’m not the one who wrote this book. You did!” His tone was harsh, like he was reprimanding a child who didn’t do her homework. She rolled her eyes at his unmistakable sense of urgency.

“We have plenty of time, Tony.”

“Yeah, if you don’t do that Picasso thing on your face with the make-up, then maybe we’ll make it on time!”

“Whatever, I’ll be quick.”

Where did my galaxies go? I need to get away. Far away from here.

I like this piece a lot....

"Uniquely American" -6/24/03 Pia V. Pulido

Every summer, when the heatwave prickles through my skin, I think of that place where I was born,

In a tropical archipelago made up of 7,000 islands

On the side of the Pacific Ocean

Where a unique blend of east and west make up its people and culture.

Every summer, the color of my skin gets darker-

The evidence of my Malay, Chinese, Spanish, and Arab roots.

Whenever I think of that place, I remember devouring a yellow-red freshly picked mango,

Plump and cold with the juice dripping down to my elbow.

I remember hopping over the papaya and banana leaves scattered in my mother's old backyard,

I remember those sweet, familiar scents of summer sun mixing with tropical heat.

On long hot summer nights, I look up to the skies and close my eyes

And dream of this one small island.

A beautiful place it is, it is the island of Boracay

At the northwestern tip of Panay,

A butterfly shaped isle filled with palm trees, white powder fine sands and turquoise waters.

The waves overlapping each other, swaying back and forth,

Lulling me back to my native tongue.

But my daydreams of that place

Always takes me back here

Where I live

Where I belong

Where I've become...

A freedom lover

With a powerful voice,

Standing tall with independence.

This is no dream,

For every summer around the Fourth of July,

I celebrate myself

As uniquely American.

"Breathing Life"

© 2009 Pia Villanueva-Pulido

The best spot in the house is the corner bookshelf in what used to be her mother's formal dining room when she was growing up. Now she converted the room into a mini-library filled with all kinds of books she has collected since her undergrad years as an English/Lit major. Those were the years when possibilities like the Great American Novel followed by a Nobel Prize were within reach. HA! What a joke.

How do I get out of here? She thought to herself, shaking her head, as she longingly glanced at the row of paperback Shakespearean tragedies. She walked away from her books, as if avoiding a temptation that would be impossible to resist if she dared to take another step forward, left the room, and didn't look back.

Walking past the small dining area and a narrow kitchen led her to another “best spot” in the house. When she was 12, it used to be what her mother called a “game room” where she had all her daycare kids and grandkids play during the day. Her mother quit the daycare business to take care of an elderly aunt, so it became a laundry and storage room. By the time she was out of college and married, it became a music studio. But the original homeowners used it as a garage. For her family, it had been anything but a garage.

She entered the room and heard her husband rhythmically counting and snapping, “1, 2, 3, 4, 1,2,3,4,” as a student attempted to follow his beat on the drums. She knew better than to disturb the fast-forward pace of his lessons, so she shut the door and walked back to the kitchen.

“Mommy, I'm hungry!” Her four-year old daughter announced, rubbing her belly exaggeratedly. Moments later, his metronome counting and the banging on the drums faded.

Oh, eternal gratitude!

But before she could even catch her breath to take out the toaster and some ham and cheese, she heard the electric guitar and his familiar three-chord progression technique he always used on beginner students. “It's a universal three chord trick,” he lectured to the little second grader. “If you practice just five minutes a day using these three chords, you can play any song you want.” That was his hook, and it always worked. The kids always walked out of his music lessons excited and passionate.

Excerpt #2 from the Big Six Contract (language edited to be suitable for young adults)

"Yes it did. It explained my behavior. I already told you, it really was my period. I told you I was sorry and I’m exhausted. Let’s just watch the movie.”

“No!” His tone changed from affectionate teasing to passive-aggressive. “When it’s not convenient for me to talk, like when I’m working, you call me and make me listen to you whine and complain. Now it’s your turn.”

“That’s very mature of you, Carlos. An eye for an eye, the basis of our marriage. I thought we already outgrew that.” Eunice got up from the couch, removed the movie from the DVD player, and turned the television off.

Carlos knew that when she turned off the TV, she had every intention of extending the conversation to equal the same amount of time for a full-length movie. He looked at the clock behind him: 2:17. In about five minutes, he is going to shut down everything around him so that he can remain calm, cool, and collected. He did not want to listen to her taunts and insults. Actually, he did not want to listen to her at all. Eunice was known for her razor tongue, and she would attack without warning. He closed his eyes and recalled the night they met.

“Not once did you tell me I wasn’t being true to myself. You’re the one who lied to yourself when you said you were successful in your career back when we were dating, and how much money do you make for this family now?” Her voice trailed off as he thought back to the night they met.

It was at Brews, a downtown pub, where all the frat boys and the beer-bellied alumni rugby players hung out to drink the imported specialty beers. Beer snobs. Not where he belonged, yet he found himself driving over there to meet up with his shady friend Larry who was a lot of fun to party with.

“Dude, I found an after party tonight, but I gotta meet this chick at Brews first. I am going to hook up with her tonight," Gary said matter-of-factly. It was no secret what he did for a living.

“Why don’t you meet me up there?”

“No, thanks, man. I’ve gotta work early in the morning tomorrow and my son’s gonna be looking for me in the morning.”

“Isn’t that why your dad’s living with you? So he can take care of your son?”

Carlos laughed. “Good point. But I’m already in bed, man.”

“The after-party, Carlos. I heard DJ RJ is spinning tonight.”

“Oh really? He’s playing house music?”

“You know he will.”

Carlos found himself getting up out of bed that night and telling his dad to watch his son. No, he didn’t feel badly about leaving his son to go party. After all, he gave up everything so he could raise his kid, even though he didn’t want one. Unwanted pregnancy. Unwanted woman. Then she had to go leave them both. He felt entitled to a break once in a while, and tonight was his opportunity. He had to seize it before it slipped away again.

The day Jeffrey was born was the day he gave up on music and the band, but he couldn't resist music altogether.

Driving downtown was like coming home. The clubs and the streetlights were familiar, and the drum and bass from the music clubs was throbbing in his ears. People were laughing and drinking, and someone’s getting her belly button pierced at the tattoo parlor. He felt alive again. What a horrible year it has been – with Jeffrey’s mom leaving him and two years of his life wasted, tonight, he felt like he finally was able to start picking up the pieces to move on.

He pulled the old Buick up to the curb and parked his car next to the meter. I’ll only stay for 30 minutes, he thought to himself, as he put in a few coins in. Just enough time to drink a beer and go.

He walked into Brews and instantly felt nauseous. He was surrounded by the same dorks that he and his cousins used to hang out with in San Antonio. Those were the guys that used to be stars of their high school football and talked about what losers the non-football players were. They were the guys who drank overpriced beer.

They were all here together in one place. Ugh, he was gonna get sick. Where’s Larry? I gotta get outta here.

He finds Larry surrounded by several young women, all of whom were giving him their undivided attention. Larry could charm anybody’s pants off, even a middle aged male bartender. He was just Larry, and everyone loved him.

That was the night they met.

He saw her talking to Larry. At first, Carlos thought she was the girl Larry was talking about over the phone, but it turned out that she just happened to have smashed his drink earlier that night.

As he walked towards them, he could hear her telling him, “I totally didn’t see it. I’m really sorry about that. Let me buy you another one.”

Before Larry could agree to the free beer, Carlos walked up to them and interrupted. “You don’t have to buy Larry a beer. He doesn’t even need another one. Don’t worry about it. It’s his fault anyway.”

He gave her his sexiest grin, but it didn’t work. In her innermost snotty attitude that she still throws around from time to time to this day, she asked, “Who are you… and why are you interrupting us?”

He fell in love with her instantly.

Excerpt from the Big Six Contract

You know who you shoulda married?” They were sprawled comfortably on the living room couch, their legs intertwined on the ottoman, and his arms were wrapped around her. A movie was on, but it was what he liked to call a ‘chick flick,’ so he chose this moment as the perfect time for him to talk because she was quiet.

“That tall white guy – what’s his name…the guy who was pissed off at me at your birthday party that year when you were so drunk at Dave and Buster’s.”

“Ohhh, Jayden!!” She recalled fondly with a smile. “Honey, that was years ago, like during the time we were straight outta college.”

“Yah, but that’s the kinda guy you want. You should’ve been true to yourself and just married him instead.”

Eunice scrunched her eyebrows and looked at her husband curiously. Even after he gained twenty-something pounds since their wedding day five years ago, he was still irresistibly handsome with his sharp chin, his perfectly symmetrical nose, and those sexy brown bedroom eyes with unbelievably long eyelashes. She wanted to just straddle him right then and there and attack him with kisses. And more. Everywhere. Instead she attacked him with words.

“What the hell’s the matter with you? Where did that come from!? I AM being true to myself! I married you!” Her chest tightened and she could feel her heart beating so fast. Her heart felt like it was coming out of her throat. Deep breathing techniques where are you when I need you most? In with your nose, out with your mouth. Breathe in, breathe out with your nose, in with your mouth. Relax, she said, just forget what he said. He’s just talking smack, she thought. But she couldn’t. Forget the meditation technique. It’s just for sissies. Whatever.

“Okay, here we go again!”

She took the DVD remote and searched for the PAUSE button, threw it hard on the floor and it smashed to pieces. This was not unusual behavior for either one of them during a heated argument. They knew they could get psycho with each other, which is probably part of their unhealthy attraction towards one another. Breathing heavily, she positioned herself carefully to face her husband before returning to the conversation.

“You know, this is a rare moment for us. It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon, just the two of us, while the kids are out shopping with your mom. No distractions. Do you really have to bring up some random relationship issue from the past right this very moment? Jayden was not even a boyfriend. He was an old college buddy. We lived in the same dorm. That’s it.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. Eunice reached for what was left of the remote to continue the movie when he replied, “It came from what you said yesterday. Do you not even remember everything you told me while you were in tears, crying and hysterical? And don’t blame it on your period. It had nothing to do with your period.”

More Information on the Creative Writing Summer Camp 2009 in DFW area!

Dear Parents:

Thank you for expressing an interest in my Creative Writing camp this year. It is parents like you who support the cause and keep teachers like me motivated to do more! It speaks volumes about how much you care for your children and their education.

Just a reminder that registration is due to secure your spot. As of now, I have closed the dates on Session 1 (June 15th-June 26th MWF 9AM-2PM) and it is no longer available, but I do have plenty of room for Session 2 (July 6th-July 17th MWF 9AM - 2PM). For those of you who have already registered, thank you for allowing me to work with your children this summer and I look forward to plenty of fun and exciting adventures!

Materials are provided but please bring a sack lunch and drink, plus a snack. We will have "mini-field trips" on Fridays (a walk to the nearby park, a visit to the local bookstore or coffee shop to perform an oral reading of our work). At the end of our camp session, we will schedule a date to showcase our masterpieces (the date is TBD)in front of an audience (the parents). Please secure your spot and turn in your registration form attached and payment as soon as possible. You may contact me via email or phone at 972-523-6246.

CREATIVE WRITING COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This year's theme is "Securing Our Future: The Children's Perspective."
Following the basic structure of common writing traits, participants will hear short stories each day relating to their lives and how certain choices affect their future. Using group discussions, participants will identify common elements and brainstorm how these elements can be adapted to their own stories. The brainstorming sessions will help them develop a perspective of their own personal future and the world's future. Using writing prompts and illustrations, participants will create a story of what they hope to see and become, and what impact they want to make to secure our future.

As always, please do not hesitate to call me or email me if you have any questions or concerns. Have a safe and happy summer!

Peace and Blessings,
Mrs. Pulido
http://www.google.com/profiles/piavillanuevapulido

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1fWZ7Tmcac