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[Taiwan Immigrants’ Global News Network] The numbers of Chinese in the Philippines are about 2 million. The local Chinese have the custom of celebrating the Chinese New Year over the years, so the form is basically the same as that of China. There was no statutory holiday for the Chinese New Year in the Philippines. It was not until 2012, after years of efforts and appeals by the local Chinese community, that the Philippine government designated the Spring Festival as a special non-working holiday, which is the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar.
During the Chinese New Year, the Chinese district in Manila is decorated with lanterns and festoons, and there are huge crowds of people. The red lanterns hanging on high places complement the red-clothed people who buy New Year’s goods on the street. Looking at a red sea, with the sound of gongs and drums of dragon and lion dances, it is full of New Year’s vibes. However, to the surprise of the outside world, many local Filipinos showed up in the Chinese district, and the number of Filipinos on the street even exceeded that of the Chinese.
In the Spring Festival activities in the Philippines, in addition to the common red envelopes and lion and dragon dance performances, there is also the custom of hanging "eight circles", which are decorated with eight kinds of round fruits. It means completeness. In addition, some Chinese are from Fujian, China. Influenced by the culture of southern Fujian, people will buy pineapples during the New Year. The Hokkien word "pineapple" is "wanglai" which are homophonic, and pineapple has become an auspicious fruit for the New Year.
