QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES – A series of art posts highlighting Filipino food and Zodiac signs were created by two foodies, Joanne Boston of @jbkollaborations and Albert Balbutin of @FilipinoFoodArt. Each sign of the Zodiac, from Aries to Pisces, was assigned a Filipino dish.
Lechon, with its crispy golden skin, was chosen for the Leo’s (Jul 23 – Aug 22), whose element is fire and spirit color is gold, according to Horoscope.com.
Libras (Sep 23 – Oct 22) who love Pancit are in luck, as the dish associated with long life by Filipinos was assigned the Libra zodiac.
The connections were based on a short survey Boston conducted for fun with her Instagram following. The results were sent to Balbutin to create artwork using cute Filipino food characters, and together they finished their own Filipino Food Zodiac.
There are many memes and social media posts of Zodiac signs assigned to different dishes from sandwiches to pizza! The zodiac itself is a set of characters assigned to the stars.
The Chinese Zodiac is connected to various animals like the Rooster or Goat, and was based on the Chinese lunar calendar over 2,000 years ago! The reason why Filipinos view pansit as a symbol of long life is because of a Chinese tradition: the consumption of noodles every Chinese new year, which is based on the lunar calendar.
The western Zodiac we know today has roots with the Babylonians. According to NASA, the Babylonians looked up at the stars and assigned names to the constellations which were passed by the sun every year. This tradition lived on, and eventually the Greek word zôion meaning “animal” gave way to the word we use today, Zodiac (and “zoo”!)
The next time you celebrate your birthday (or look up your horoscope for the week), be sure to find your own inner Filipino dish. Don’t forget to share.
May your stars be aligned, and be forever in your flavor.
