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New Year

What’s Your Traditional Food For Good Luck In The New Year?

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What’s your New Year’s tradition? Do you eat fish, beans, cakes with coins, grapes, or pickled herring? Perhaps your family eats pork products, lentils, black-eyed peas, cooked greens or long noodles.

The earliest recorded celebration of the New Year dates back 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. The first new moon following the vernal equinox, or the day in the spring with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness, signaled the start of a new year. Eventually civilizations around the world developed more sophisticated calendars which usually tied the first day of the year to an agricultural or astronomical event.

Food and symbolism played and still play important roles in these New Year celebrations. On special occasions different countries use certain foods — not just to celebrate — but often as a symbol of luck, wealth, and health.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Different cultures have foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1 to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food).

But, there are also foods not to eat. Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. To avoid any looking back at past struggles or setbacks, only things that move forward should be eaten.

In some cultures, a little food should be left on the table or on your plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bet – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate — Some Lucky Foods To Eat

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list – that are honored by people all around the world. Wouldn’t you want to consider Filling your plate with some luck on January 1? A little extra insurance can’t hurt!

Some Traditional Good Luck Foods

Round foods shaped like coins, like beans, black eyed peas, and legumes, symbolize financial prosperity, as do greens like cabbage, collard greens, and kale which resemble paper money. Golden colored foods like corn bread also symbolize financial rewards in the New Year. Examples of round good luck foods are: lentils in Italy and Brazil, pancakes in Germany, round fruit in the Philippines, and black-eyed peas in the Southern US. Green leafy vegetables that symbolize paper money are collard greens in the Southern US and kale in Denmark.

Pork symbolizes abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation). It’s a sign of prosperity and the pig symbolizes plentiful food in the New Year. The pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food. Pork products appear in many ways – ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even pig’s knuckles. Years ago, if your family had a pig you were doing well. Some examples of good luck pork products are roast suckling pig with a four leaf clover in its mouth in Hungary; pork sausage with lentils in Italy; and pork with sauerkraut in Germany.In some countries, having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.

Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty and is a symbol of good luck. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time. It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact to symbolize a good beginning and a good end. Examples are herring and carp in Germany, pickled herring in Poland, boiled cod in
Denmark, dried salted cod in Italy, red snapper in Japan, and carp in
Vietnam.

Eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year is common in a number of countries. In Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador, and
Peru 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight in hope of having 12 sweet months. The order and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, the month of May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure.

Another symbol for good luck involves eating food that’s in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year. Examples are Rosca de Reyes in Mexico and Olie Bollen (doughnuts) in the Netherlands.

Long noodles signify a long life. The Japanese use long Buckwheat Soba noodles – but you shouldn’t cut or break them because that could shorten life.

Sweets are symbolic of a sweet year and/or good luck. Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries. Greeks have a round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside — which is cut after midnight. Whoever gets the coin is supposed to have luck throughout the year. Jews use apples dipped in honey on the Jewish New Year, Norwegians use rice pudding with an almond inside, Koreans use sweet fruits, and Egyptians have candy for children.

Chinese New Year, an all East and Southeast Asia celebration, begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. It’s filled with tradition and ritual and usually considered the most important traditional holiday for Asian people. The holiday is celebrated with lucky red envelopes filled with money, lion and dragon dances, drums, fireworks, firecrackers, and feasting on traditional sweet sticky rice cake and round savory dumplings that symbolize never-ending wealth. On New Year’s Eve extended family come together for a meal that includes fish as the last course to symbolize abundance. In the first five days of the New Year people eat long noodles to symbolize long life and on the 15th and final celebratory day, round dumplings shaped like the full moon are shared to represent the family unit and perfection.

So fill your plate with a serving of luck and celebrate with family and friends.

In my family we bake Greek Vasilopita (St. Basil’s New Year’s cake) and each one of us will be hoping we crunch on the piece with the hidden coin.

I wish you a Happy and Healthy 2019.

What To Eat For Good Luck In The New Year — And What To Avoid!

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Pork products, fish, beans, cakes with coins, grapes, and pickled herring? Maybe lentils, black-eyed peas, cooked greens or long noodles?

Food and symbolism play important roles in celebrations around the world. On special occasions different countries use certain foods — not just to celebrate — but often as a symbol of luck, wealth, and health.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Different cultures have foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1 to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food).

There are also foods not to eat. Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. To avoid any looking back, setbacks, or past struggles only things that move forward should be eaten.

In some cultures, a little food should be left on the table or on your plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bets – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate — Some Lucky Foods To Consider

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list – that are honored by people all around the world. Wouldn’t you want to consider piling some luck on your plate on January 1? Why tempt fate?

Here are some of the more common groups of good luck foods:

  • Round foods shaped like coins, like beans, black eyed peas, and legumes, symbolize financial prosperity, as do greens, which resemble paper money. Examples are cabbage, collard greens, and kale. Golden colored foods like corn bread also symbolize financial rewards in the New Year. Examples of round good luck foods are: lentils in Italy and Brazil, pancakes in Germany, round fruit in the Philippines, and black-eyed peas in the Southern US. Green leafy vegetables that symbolize paper money are collard greens in the Southern US and kale in Denmark.
  • Pork symbolizes abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation). It’s a sign of prosperity and the pig symbolizes plentiful food in the New Year. The pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food. Pork products appear in many ways – ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even pig’s knuckles. Years ago, if your family had a pig you were doing well. Some examples of good luck pork products are roast suckling pig with a four leaf clover in its mouth in Hungary; pork sausage with lentils in Italy; and pork with sauerkraut in Germany.
  • In some countries, having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.
  • Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty and is a symbol of good luck. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time. It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact to symbolize a good beginning and a good end. Examples are herring and carp in Germany, pickled herring in Poland, boiled cod in
Denmark, dried salted cod in Italy, red snapper in Japan, and carp in
Vietnam.
  • Eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year is common in a number of countries. In Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba,
Ecuador, and
Peru 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight in hope of having 12 sweet months. The order and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, the month of May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure. There seems to be an awful lot of hedging of bets all around the world.
  • Another symbol for good luck involves eating food that’s in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year. Examples are Rosca de Reyes in Mexico and Olie Bollen (doughnuts) in the Netherlands.
  • Long noodles signify a long life. The Japanese use long Buckwheat Soba noodles – but you shouldn’t cut or break them because that could shorten life.
  • Chinese New Year, an all East and Southeast Asia celebration, is known as “Spring Festival” in China, begining on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. It’s filled with tradition and ritual and usually considered the most important traditional holiday for Chinese people around the world.
  • The holiday is celebrated with lucky red envelopes filled with money, lion and dragon dances, drums, fireworks, firecrackers, and feasting on traditional sweet sticky rice cake and round savory dumplings that symbolize never-ending wealth. On New Year’s Eve extended family come together for a meal that includes fish as the last course to symbolize abundance. In the first five days of the New Year people eat long noodles to symbolize long life and on the 15th and final day of the celebration round dumplings shaped like the full moon are shared to represent the family unit and perfection. Source:com
  • Sweets are symbolic of a sweet year and/or good luck. Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries. Greeks have a round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside — which is cut after midnight. Whoever gets the coin is lucky throughout the year. Jews use apples dipped in honey on the Jewish New Year, Norwegians use rice pudding with an almond inside, Koreans use sweet fruits, and Egyptians have candy for children.

So fill your plate with a serving of luck. As for resolutions — they’re not quite as tasty as many food traditions, but they do have longevity — they date back 4000 years to the ancient Babylonians!

In my family we bake Vasilopita and each one of us will be hoping we crunch on the piece with the hidden coin.

I wish you a Healthy and Happy 2017.

Don’t Tempt Fate: Remember To Eat Your New Year’s Good Luck Food!

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NewYearsFoodGraphic

What’s your New Year’s tradition? Do you eat fish, beans, cakes with coins, grapes, or pickled herring?

Around the world food and symbolism play important roles in New Year’s celebrations not just to celebrate but often to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food), and health.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Although different cultures have foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1st, there are also foods not to eat. Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. To avoid any looking back at past struggles or setbacks, or only things that move forward should be eaten.

Want a full pantry? Some cultures leave a little food on the table or on the plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bet – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate – Here Are Some Lucky Foods To Consider

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list. Wouldn’t you want to consider piling some luck on your plate on January 1st? A little extra insurance can’t hurt!

Some common types of good luck foods:

  • Round foods shaped like coins, such as beans, black eyed peas, and legumes, symbolize financial prosperity, as do greens such as cabbage, collard greens, and kale, which resemble paper money. Golden colored foods like corn bread also symbolize financial rewards in the New Year. Examples of round good luck foods are: lentils in Italy and Brazil, pancakes in Germany, round fruit in the Philippines, and black-eyed peas in the Southern US. Green leafy vegetables that symbolize paper money are collard greens in the Southern US and kale in Denmark.
  • Pork symbolizes prosperity, abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation). The pig, which symbolizes plentiful food in the New Year, is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food. Pork products appear as ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even pig’s knuckles. Years ago, if your family had a pig you were doing well! Some examples of good luck pork products are roast suckling pig with a four leaf clover in its mouth in Hungary, pork sausage with lentils in Italy, and pork with sauerkraut in Germany.
  • In some countries, having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.
  • Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty and is a symbol of good luck. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time. It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact, to symbolize a good beginning and a good end. Examples are herring and carp in Germany, pickled herring in Poland, boiled cod in
Denmark, dried salted cod in Italy, red snapper in Japan, and carp in
Vietnam.
  • Eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year is common in a number of countries. In Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba,
Ecuador, and
Peru, 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight in hope of having 12 sweet months. The order and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure. There seems to be an awful lot of hedging of bets all around the world.
  • Another symbol for good luck involves eating food that’s in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year. Examples are Rosca de Reyes in Mexico and Olie Bollen (doughnuts) in the Netherlands.
  • Long noodles signify a long life. The Japanese use long Buckwheat Soba noodles – but you shouldn’t cut or break them because that could shorten life.
  • Chinese New Year, an all East and Southeast Asia celebration, is known as “Spring Festival” in China, which begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. It’s filled with tradition and ritual and celebrated with lucky red envelopes filled with money, lion and dragon dances, drums, fireworks, firecrackers, and feasting on traditional sweet sticky rice cake and round savory dumplings that symbolize never-ending wealth.
  • Sweets are symbolic of a sweet year and/or good luck. Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries. Greeks have a round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside — which is cut after midnight. Whoever gets the coin is lucky throughout the year. Jews use apples dipped in honey on the Jewish New Year, Norwegians use rice pudding with an almond inside, Koreans use sweet fruits, and Egyptians have candy for children.

Fill your plate with a serving of luck. As for resolutions — they’re not quite as tasty as most (not all) food traditions, but they do have longevity — they date back 4000 years to the ancient Babylonians!

Happy and Healthy 2015!

Remember to eat well because you really are what you eat.

What To Eat For Good Luck In The New Year — And What To Avoid!

By Leave a Comment

2014-newyears_resizedPork products, fish, beans, cakes with coins, grapes, and pickled herring?

Food and symbolism play important roles in celebrations around the world. On special occasions different countries use certain foods not just to celebrate but often as a symbol of luck, wealth, and health.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Different cultures have foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1 to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food).

There are also foods not to eat.  Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. To avoid any looking back, setbacks, or past struggles only things that move forward should be eaten.

In some cultures, a little food should be left on the table or on your plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bets – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate — Some Lucky Foods To Consider

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list – that are honored by people all around the world. Wouldn’t you want to consider piling some luck on your plate on January 1? Why tempt fate?

Here are some of the more common groups of good luck foods:

  • Round foods shaped like coins, like beans, black eyed peas, and legumes, symbolize financial prosperity, as do greens, which resemble paper money. Examples are cabbage, collard greens, and kale. Golden colored foods like corn bread also symbolize financial rewards in the New Year. Examples of round good luck foods are: lentils in Italy and Brazil, pancakes in Germany, round fruit in the Philippines, and black-eyed peas in the Southern US. Green leafy vegetables that symbolize paper money are collard greens in the Southern US and kale in Denmark.
  • Pork symbolizes abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation). It’s a sign of prosperity and the pig symbolizes plentiful food in the New Year. The pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food.  Pork products appear in many ways – ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even pig’s knuckles. Years ago, if your family had a pig you were doing well! Some examples of good luck pork products are roast suckling pig with a four leaf clover in its mouth in Hungary; pork sausage with lentils in Italy; and pork with sauerkraut in Germany.
  • In some countries, having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.
  • Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty and is a symbol of good luck. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time.  It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact to symbolize a good beginning and a good end. Examples are herring and carp in Germany, pickled herring in Poland, boiled cod in
Denmark, dried salted cod in Italy, red snapper in Japan, and carp in
Vietnam.
  • Eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year is common in a number of countries. In Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba,
Ecuador, and
Peru 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight in hope of having 12 sweet months. The order and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure. There seems to be an awful lot of hedging of bets all around the world.
  • Another symbol for good luck involves eating food that’s in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year. Examples are Rosca de Reyes in Mexico and Olie Bollen (doughnuts) in the Netherlands.
  • Long noodles signify a long life. The Japanese use long Buckwheat Soba noodles – but you shouldn’t cut or break them because that could shorten life.
  • Sweets are symbolic of a sweet year and/or good luck. Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries.  Greeks have a round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside — which is cut after midnight. Whoever gets the coin is lucky throughout the year. Jews use apples dipped in honey on the Jewish New Year, Norwegians use rice pudding with an almond inside, Koreans use sweet fruits, and Egyptians have candy for children.

So fill your plate with a serving of luck. Don’t overlook resolutions. They’re not quite as tasty as most (not all) food traditions, but they do have longevity — they date back 4000 years to the ancient Babylonians!

Material in this article is taken (with the author’s permission) from “Symbolic Foods Eaten Around the World for New Years,” originally published on http://MamaLisa.com.  Visit Mama Lisa’s World, which features the internet’s largest collection of international children’s songs and a lively blog focused on parenthood and world culture.

For more interesting tips about food and eating visit the iTunes store to get Eat Out Eat Well digital magazine for your iPad or iPhone.

What To Eat On New Year’s Day For Good Luck – And What To Avoid!

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Pork products, fish, beans, cakes with coins, grapes, pickled herring?

Sound tasty?  Maybe yes, maybe no?  So what do they have in common?  They’re a sampling of some of the foods people eat on New Year’s to bring good luck.

Food has power and especially at transitional points – like holidays and feast days — many cultures traditionally eat food that has special meaning.

I grew up with the Greek tradition of eating Vasilopita on New Year’s Day.  It’s a rich, buttery cake-like New Year’s bread with a coin baked in it.

Named after St. Basil the Great, a theologian who gave all his possessions to the poor, the needy, the underprivileged, and children, tradition has it that whoever gets the piece of cake with the coin embedded in it is supposed to have good luck in the coming year.  I once got the coin in the first piece of Vasilopita that was cut in a restaurant in Athens, which blew the hopes of everyone else in the restaurant!

Then again, I distinctly remember my Mother, who is Russian, eating pickled pig’s knuckles on New Year’s for good luck.  Try as she might, there was no way she was getting me to even go near them.  Vasilopita – even if you don’t get the coin – is a much more appealing choice.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Different cultures have various foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1 to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food).

There are also foods not to eat.  Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. There should be no looking back, setbacks, or past struggles – only things that move forward should be eaten.

And in some cultures, a little food should be left on the table or your plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bets – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate — Some Lucky Foods To Consider

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list – that are honored by people all around the world.

Don’t you at least want to consider piling some luck on your plate on January 1? Why tempt fate?

Here are some of the more common good luck foods:

  • Pork is big.  It symbolizes abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation, too). The pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food.  Pork products appear in many ways – ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even those pig’s knuckles.
  • Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time.  It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact, which symbolizes a good beginning and a good end.
  • Long noodles signify a long life – don’t cut or break them because that could shorten life!
  • Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries.  Sticky rice cakes, rice pudding, and fruitcakes also fit the bill in various parts of the world.
  • Grapes – in specific numbers — are lucky.  Their shape resembles a coin, sweet ones can mean a good month.  In some countries twelve grapes are eaten at midnight — one for each stroke of the clock or one for each month. The number and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight, and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure. There seems to be an awful lot of hedging of bets all around the world.

So fill your plate with a serving of luck — and, don’t forget resolutions. They’re not quite as tasty as most (not all) food traditions, but they do have longevity — they date back 4000 years to the ancient Babylonians.

Happy New Year