Traditions and rituals differ from country to country, and in many of them, food plays a central role! In Japan, noodle soup brings longevity, in Italy lentils bring wealth, and in Turkey pomegranates bring abundance! Discover the meaning of the foods we eat for New Year's and create your own New Year’s menu!
In Italy, one of the traditional dishes enjoyed for New Year’s is cotechino e lenticchie (sausage with lentils). Eating sausage before midnight is a good omen for the New Year and symbolizes abundance. Lentils are considered symbols of good fortune and prosperity due to their resemblance to coins, and therefore cannot be missed at the dining table!
In Turkey, the pomegranate reigns on New Year's Eve - a symbol of abundance and fertility for the new year. Common practices include opening a pomegranate at midnight, or even throwing them on the ground at the front door of houses so that the seeds can spread and bring good fortune.
On New Year's Eve, it is tradition for Austrians to serve “good luck” at the table with a delicious roasted suckling pig. It is also common to decorate the table with small pigs made out of marzipan, chocolate, cookie dough or other sweets.
In Japan, there is a tradition of eating soba at midnight - a soup made of buckwheat noodles. The tradition says that the long strands of dough symbolize longevity and the passage from one year to the next. As these noodles are easy to cut, they also represent detachment from the past year.
Considered a symbol of growth and rebirth, onions are part of the New Year's tradition in Greece. Onions are hung above the front door and removed the next morning.
On New Year's tables in Mexico, it is common to have tamales - a corn dough stuffed with meat, cheese and other ingredients, which are wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf. The tamales are often served with menudo - a typical soup made with tripe that is said to help cure hangovers.
In Sweden and Norway, there is never a lack of rice pudding on the New Year's table. There is a custom of hiding an almond in the pudding, and the person that finds the almond is blessed with 12 months of good luck in the new year.
