6 Lucky New Year’s Foods

Eating these 6 Lucky New Year’s Foods is a way to bring you luck in all different areas in your life.  Some of these are traditions from all over the world that everyone participates in. We hope you enjoy! It is a fun tradition to do with your family. For us we always have Black Eyed Peas.

6 Lucky New Year’s Foods

Grapes – New Year’s revelers in Spain and Mexico eat twelve grapes at midnight—one grape for each stroke of the clock. This dates back to 1909, when grape growers in Spain initiated the practice to take care of a grape surplus. The idea has stuck, which spread to Portugal as well as Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru. Each grape represents a different month, so if for instance the third grape is a bit sour, March might be a rocky month. For most, the goal is to swallow all the grapes before the last stroke of midnight.

Cooked, Greens- Including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year’s in different countries for a simple reason — their green leaves look like folded money, and therefore are symbolic of economic fortune. The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, the Germans consume sauerkraut (cabbage) while in the southern United States, collards are the green of choice. It’s widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one’s fortune next year.

Legumes – Including beans, peas, and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small, seedlike appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind. In Italy, it’s customary to eat cotechino con lenticchie or sausages and green lentils, just after midnight—a particularly propitious meal because pork has its own lucky associations. Germans also partner legumes and pork, usually lentil or split pea soup with sausage. In Brazil, the first meal of the New Year is usually lentil soup or lentils and rice, and in Japan, the osechi-ryori, a group of symbolic dishes eaten during the first three days of the new year, includes sweet black beans called kuro-mame.  In the Southern United States, it’s traditional to eat black-eyed peas in a dish called hoppin’ john (recipe below).

Pork – The custom of eating pork on New Year’s is based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress. The animal pushes forward, rooting itself in the ground before moving. Roast suckling pig is served for New Year’s in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria—Austrians are also known to decorate the table with miniature pigs made of marzipan. Different pork dishes such as pig’s feet are enjoyed in Sweden while Germans feast on roast pork and sausages. Pork is also consumed in Italy and the United States, where thanks to its rich fat content, it signifies wealth and prosperity.

Fish – is a very logical choice for the New Year’s table. The Danish eat boiled cod, but in Italy they consume dried salt cod from Christmas through New Year’s. Herring, another frequently preserved fish, is consumed at midnight in Poland and Germany—Germans also enjoy carp and have been known to place a few fish scales in their wallets for good luck.

Cakes – and other baked goods are usually served from Christmas to New Year’s around the world, with an emphasis placed on round or ring-shaped items. Some cultures, it’s customary to hide a special trinket or coin inside the cake—the recipient will be lucky in the new year. Mexico’s rosca de reyes is a ring-shaped cake decorated with candied fruit and baked with one or more surprises inside. In Greece, a special round cake called vasilopita is baked with a coin hidden inside. At midnight or after the New Year’s Day meal, the cake is cut, with the first piece going to St. Basil and the rest being distributed to guests in order of age. Sweden and Norway have similar rituals in which they hide a whole almond in rice pudding—whoever gets the nut is guaranteed great fortune in the new year.

Here is a list of some recipes including the above Lucky New Year’s Foods:

Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas

Hoppin John Recipe

Copycat Pioneer Woman Hoppin John Recipe

Pork Chop and Apples with Stuffing

Roast Pork Tenderloin

Tortellini Bean Soup Mix – Lentils

Bean Salsa – Black Eyed Peas

Berry Burst Cake

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Two Step Pound Cake

Sausage and Sauerkraut

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