When friends and family learned we were moving homes, we were showered with tons of advice on house blessings. One of the most common ones was to make sure that salt, rice and a holy figurine/statue were the first of your items that entered your home. How come? Salt is for wisdom, rice is to make sure you always have something to eat, and the holy figurine is for protection.
There are a lot of rituals that can go into a house blessing. I would think that the most common among Catholics is to have a priest go from room to room while he sprinkles holy water and says a prayer for each space of your new home. (In our previous place, H and I blessed our own home with some holy water and said prayers similar to these together.) Other rituals entail throwing coins in each room for prosperity, banging pots and pans to rid the space of negative energy, lighting candles for protection, etc.
Why a house blessing anyway? Think of it as a clean slate– a new place of love and peace for you and your family. It could be one way to help remove whatever energy that was left by previous owners and replace it with the new blessings you ask for. It could be a way of saying thanks for this new place that you will call home.
While it is wonderful to receive a variety of advice on how to go about your ideal house blessing, it can get quite overwhelming (believe me!). In the end, what’s important is doing what you and your family find comfortable. Don’t be pressured by old wives’ tales or tradition! What matters anyway goes beyond even the most well-prepared ritual. The heart of a home, whether old or new, lies in how the people living under that one roof share truly loving relationships with each other. Now that’s a real home blessing.
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
barbara
February 7, 2006 at 2:52 pm (18 years ago)growing up with two cultures was quite difficult for me – however i do keep some of the filipino traditions – and yes, i did the salt, rice and religious icon too – never hurts anyway to do these things and it felt right for me too – happy moving for you!
aleth
February 7, 2006 at 8:08 pm (18 years ago)agree ako sa last sentence mo! “home” is where the heart is … a house is just the structure, and is not a home when there’s no one there to hold you tight … ay! kanta na yata yun!
but i did the salt, rice, water and religious icon din.. no harm in that! all the best for you and your hubby in your new “home”… may God shower you with more love, peace, happiness and prosperity!…
ces
February 7, 2006 at 10:04 pm (18 years ago)have fun in your move! yup! never hurts to follow some of the ‘pamahiins’ ..i do those too whenever we move! like 3 times since we got here in NY! lol!
ajay
February 8, 2006 at 12:49 am (18 years ago)Hi Toni! Ako naman am so harrassed with moving that I never get to practice all those moving-in rituals.
Congratulations on your latest milestone with H. I am sure this home will be filled with love, peace and harmony. And I dont really mean to put the pressure, sana it will also be filled with the pitter patter of little feet soon. And oh, am sure you’ll be vedy inspired working in your new kitchen. Tell us how everything goes.Regards:)
Meeyagirl
February 8, 2006 at 1:41 am (18 years ago)hi toni, hubby believes in the salt-rice-water-santo ritual. kaya yung fave naming santo siguro hilong-hilo na sa paglilipat, 4 homes in 3 years! pero yun nga, together with the love that we bring in with us, it doesnt hurt to have as much good blessings/luck sa ating home
paz
February 8, 2006 at 1:43 am (18 years ago)congrats on the big move, toni!
sha
February 8, 2006 at 9:41 am (18 years ago)toni love good luck
greeks dont do this kind but they do call a priest who holds a bunch of basil which he dunks of holy water
like ours
then come Easter the lighted candle you bring back from the EASTER SERVICE is taken back to your place
(imagine cars with candles inside).. before the family enters
you make a sign of cross on the door frame leaving a cross soot…
home sweet home
liza
February 8, 2006 at 11:44 am (18 years ago)cheers to your new home! you’re right “home is where the heart is.” hope your new home will be filled with continued protection and abundance.
tintin
February 8, 2006 at 1:37 pm (18 years ago)hi toni! god bless you and your new home. i hope it will always be a home where love reigns.
Jher
February 8, 2006 at 2:23 pm (18 years ago)Tama ka jan, ang tunay na blessing ng isang tahanan ay ang wagas napagmamahalan ng pamilyang nakatira dito (naks). Congrats sa bagong bahay. Ako nga di pwede magpa house blessing kasi kontra sa religion ng isang brother ko, syempre gusto ko ma enjoy naman nya yung event. So house warming na lang.
Toni
February 8, 2006 at 5:02 pm (18 years ago)barbara : Thanks! And wow, two cultures! Interesting. I’ve been reading on house blessings and man, there are a lot of ways to bless one house!
aleth: thanks aleth! 😀 at oo, kanta nga yan! hehehe.
ces : Yup! Nothing to lose naman with those pamahiins!
ajay : Sabi nga ng mga nakabisita sa new place eh conducive daw to pitter patter ang lugar hehe. *crosses fingers*
Meeyagirl : Galing niyo naman! And may I know who your fave saint is?
paz : Salamat! Next weekend pa ang big move pero pagod na ako sa kaka-empake!
sha : Interesting how different cultures have different ways of blessing a home but have one purpose!
liza : Thanks! I hope the same!
tintin : That’s sweet, thanks!
Jher : Ay ang drama ng 1st line haha. 😀
Junnie
February 8, 2006 at 10:24 pm (18 years ago)after salt, rice and the Holy Family next to be up should be:
– plumbing – check
– electricity – check
– cable – ?
– and of course – making sure that you can blog at home – internet connection!
Congratulations Toni and H for making the move. May gym ba na malapit?
BabyPink
February 9, 2006 at 2:50 am (18 years ago)kailan na kayo lilipat? congrats ulit… and, good luk!:)
leah
February 9, 2006 at 7:53 am (18 years ago)well said, toni. when my husband and i moved, we didn’t do the salt-santo-rice thing but we did have holy water that we sprinkled around each room. and we kinda did our own “ritual” in each room in an unconsicous attempt to rid it of bad spirits….haha…
may your home be blessed with the love and joy that you can share with your family and friends.
autumn
February 9, 2006 at 11:45 am (18 years ago)hi toni,
we moved to our very own home a couple of weeks ago and my husband and i brought with us a cross, brown rice (healthy eating kuno), brown sugar and salt when we “first” entered our home. an aunt told us to bring these stuff inside the house without really asking what it meant. we don’t believe in superstitions but then we thought we’re not going to lose anything by following her advise.
we’re hoping to have the house blessing really soon, when we’re done with all the painting and cleaning up!
and by the way, there are a lot of orange power products available here in sydney.
Toni
February 9, 2006 at 12:17 pm (18 years ago)Junnie : Plumbing: Check! Electricity: Check! Cable: Destiny ang available; kakainis. I prefer Sky. Internet connection: No check! It’s not a home priority of mine, believe it or not 😀 And there’s no gym nearby but there’s a pool! Alleluia! A clean one at that! I can finally do my dream morning laps.
Diane: This weekend. Pag ok na lahat, magka-ROYGBV housewarming tayo.
leah : Hahaha yeah no harm naman in doing that right? Thanks for the blessing!
autumn : Oo nga no! Brown rice na rin dapat binili ko. Hehehe. Good luck with completing your new home. It’s really exciting, isn’t it? Kami we’re just renting so I don’t feel it’s our own… nevertheless, it is home to us for now! And about the orange products, hehe good for you! Here paminsan-minsan lang ako makakita.
kat
February 9, 2006 at 11:04 pm (18 years ago)congrats on your new home!!
Emer
February 10, 2006 at 7:41 am (18 years ago)We have the same size and brand of salt. God bless you and D on your new home!
toni
February 10, 2006 at 4:15 pm (18 years ago)kat & Dr. E Thanks!!!
tin
February 11, 2006 at 5:38 am (18 years ago)hi toni! now it’s your turn. all the best and have a safe and succesful move!
Toni
February 13, 2006 at 8:10 pm (18 years ago)tin: Thank you!