This week, my blog will be all about new year's eve and the traditions done in the said event. I hope you will enjoy reading it, though its very short its surely substantial.

New Year's Eve

On December 31, New Year's Eve ("Bisperas ng Bagong Taon"), Filipino families gather for the Media Noche or midnight meal – a feast that is also supposed to symbolize their hopes for a prosperous New Year. In spite of the yearly ban on firecrackers, many Filipinos in the Philippines still see these as the traditional means to greet the New Year. The loud noises and sounds of merrymaking are not only meant to celebrate the coming of the New Year but are also cast out malevolent spirits. Safer methods of merrymaking include banging on pots and pans and blowing on car horns. Folk beliefs also include encouraging children to jump at the stroke of midnight so that they would grow up tall, displaying circular fruit and wearing clothes with dots and other circular designs to symbolize money, eating twelve grapes at 12 midnight for good luck in the twelve months of the year, and opening windows and doors during the first day of the New Year to let in the good luck.

Fireworks

Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics) is a display of the effects produced by firework devices.

The earliest documentation of fireworks dates back to 7th century China where they were first used to frighten away evil spirits with their loud sound and to pray for happiness and prosperity.

Eventually the art and science of firework making developed into an independent profession. In ancient China, pyrotechnicians (firework-masters) were respected for their knowledge and skill in mounting dazzling displays of light and sound. A record in 1264 states that the speed of the rocket-propelled 'ground-rat' firework frightened the Empress Dowager Gong Sheng during a feast held in her honor by her son Emperor Lizong of Song . By the 14th century rocket propulsion was common in warfare, as evidenced by the Huolongjing compiled by Liu Ji (1311–1375) and Jiao Yu.

However, in China, fireworks for ceremonies and celebrations were mostly for royalties and the rich before the 14th century. It was only in the Ming Dynasty that any event for common people — a birth, a wedding, a business opening, or a New Year's Eve celebration — became a fitting occasion for fireworks and other noisemakers.

Amédée-François Frézier published a "Treatise on Fireworks" in 1706, covering the recreational and ceremonial uses of fireworks, rather than their military uses. The book became a standard text for fireworks makers.

Music for the Royal Fireworks was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 to celebrate the peace Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which had been declared the previous year.

The other traditions came from the Chinese new year which would be another topic of my blog next time. So keep tuning in. I also added a music video below perfect for this blog. Check it.