In the Philippines' New Year's Eve tradition, the twelve lucky fruits should usually have a round shape.
Many Filipino households display twelve round fruits at New Year's Eve, with the twelve fruits representing the twelve months of the coming year. Their roundness is associated with coins and therefore with prosperity, wealth, and good fortune. Families may choose fruits such as oranges, apples, grapes, melons, and other available produce.
The practice is part of a broader collection of Filipino New Year's customs. Some people also place coins in their pockets, make noise at midnight, or serve foods believed to encourage abundance. These customs are family and community traditions rather than requirements of a formal religious observance.
The twelve fruits are sometimes confused with Spain's midnight grape custom, but the Filipino practice is broader: it emphasizes twelve round fruits as a display or meal, while the Spanish tradition specifically calls for eating twelve grapes in time with the clock's strokes.