Include these auspicious dishes in your New Year’s Eve meal customs to bless your loved ones with wealth and well-being.
Using eve food customs to taste good fortune
New Year’s Eve is a festive time celebrated around the world with friends, family, and fireworks. Eating delectable food is another popular New Year’s custom.But what counts as New Year’s Eve food? Read through the foods below to get a taste for New Year’s Eve food traditions (you could even serve some at your New Year’s Eve party). While you’re at it, make these resolutions that you’ll actually stick to.
Greens
Since collard greens are a late crop, primarily produced in the South, they are readily available during the winter. Greens are said to be a popular choice for New Year’s Eve cuisine because they resemble money. This year, find out what “Auld Lang Syne” actually means.
Beans
Like greens, beans are symbolic of money, specifically coins. Hoppin’ John, a traditional New Year’s Eve dish in the American South, is made with beans, rice, and bacon. Start your year off on the right foot with these New Year’s quotes.
Cornbread
To hopefully make a fortune this year, mix and match a few different New Year’s Eve culinary traditions, such as black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread. “Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold,” as the Southern proverb puts it. What a wonderful New Year’s wish!
Soba
Toshikoshi soba is the customary dish served for New Year’s in Japan. The soba in the soup is said to represent a long life, and the buckwheat flour used to make the noodles adds resilience. Slurping the noodles is a part of the custom because chewing or breaking the noodle ends the luck of eating it on New Year’s Eve. By the way, here’s where to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve.
Grapes
Make sure to add grapes to your New Year’s food and cheese platter this year. Every time the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, Spaniards pop a grape, symbolizing a new page in the calendar. Take note of that particular month if one grape is bitter!After eating your grapes, check out these hilarious New Year’s memes.
Pork
Pigs are a lucky New Year’s Eve food because pigs move forward when they eat.Additionally, they are round, signifying a full wallet up ahead.And the meat itself is fattier than other cuts of meat, making this New Year’s Eve food both tasty and a symbol of prosperity. These are just a few reasons why so many people eat pork (and sauerkraut) on New Year’s.
Cake
Ring-shaped cakes are a perfect New Year’s dish because they represent coming full circle and sometimes have trinkets baked inside. Greeks are the originators of this custom; they bake a traditional Vasilopita on New Year’s Eve that contains a hidden coin. You will be lucky for a year if you get the piece with the coin. If you try this tradition and you get the slice with the coin,Don’t forget to snap a picture, post it on Instagram, and use one of these clever New Year’s captions with it.
Fish
Because fish swim in schools, which conjures the idea of abundance, and because their scales resemble coins, fish are thought to be a lucky food for New Year’s Eve. Additionally, fish swim forward, symbolizing progress, before they are consumed as a New Year’s Eve meal. Start 2022 with a laugh by reading these funny New Year’s jokes.
pomegranate
Families in Greece have a custom of tossing pomegranates against their front door on New Year’s Eve at midnight. A household will experience greater luck and fertility the more seeds that fall out.Pop yours in a plastic bag to avoid making a mess, or make your New Year’s party extra cheerful by whipping up cranberry pomegranate margaritas. Speaking of a New Year’s party, check out the best New Year’s decorations to ring in 2022 in style.
Dumplings
Families will get together to make jiaozi the day before the Chinese New Year. Eating the dumplings on New Year’s Eve is believed to bring good fortune in terms of money because they resemble gold ingots, which were the form of currency in ancient China. Consider preparing your own nutritious steamed dumplings.
Oranges
One of the primary symbols of Chinese New Year is the mandarin orange. Stick with fresh mandarins, not the canned stuff—the fruit itself is said to bring prosperity, and having one with the stem and leaf attached will bring a long life and fertility. You should also try out one of the lucky foods to eat for Chinese New Year.
Sauerkraut
The Pennsylvania Dutch have continued the custom of welcoming the New Year with a heaping plate of sauerkraut, which is associated with wealth in German and Eastern European folklore.The more you eat this New Year’s Eve food, the bigger your bankroll!
Lentils
Italians traditionally would eat lentils for the New Year’s Eve dinner. In the past, Romans would give a leather bag of the legumes, in hopes that they would turn into gold coins. Try cooking yours into a sweet potato lentil stew. Or double up on your luck and cook these lentils with another New Year’s Eve food: pork. Once the celebrations are over, find out which stores are open on New Year’s Day.
Tamales
Throughout the holidays, many families enjoy the traditional Mexican dish tamales. Since families usually get together to assist one another in making this delectable holiday dish, they represent generations of familial ties.
Soft pretzels
On New Year’s, don’t be shocked if you see German-Americans enjoying a glazed soft pretzel. Eating a soft pretzel is thought to bring good fortune into the upcoming year. With a sweet snack like this to start the new year, who wouldn’t want to?