The New Year symbolizes the renewal of life and originates from the time when people would celebrate the start of the new harvest season. People all over the world have various traditions for bringing in the New Year, with many of them involving food. Below we've listed a selection of them. To turn your New Year into a sustainable one, eat your customary food, but make sure it was produced by a local, sustainable farmer!
United States
Pennsylvania Dutch - Pork and sauerkraut are eaten on New Year's Day.
Southern US - Eating black-eyed peas is said to bring luck in the New Year. Eating greens such as cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, kale or spinach is said to bring money, while cornbread will bring wealth.
Other parts of the World
Austria - Pork is the traditional food because a pig roots in the ground going forward. Lobster is avoided because it moves backwards - this is thought to bring setbacks.
Brazil - Lentils are generally eaten to bring good luck.
China - New Year's is celebrated in February, according to the Chinese calendar. It is a 15-day long celebration that involves a lot of food. On New Year's Eve, traditional Chinese eat half a fish at dinner; the remainder is eaten the next day. The Chinese believe this will carry their luck from the current year into the next. Boiled dumplings, jiaozi, are also almost always served.
 On
New Year's Day, many Chinese families eat a vegetarian
dish called jai for good luck in the year ahead. The
ingredients all symbolize something - lotus seeds symbolize
male offspring; black moss seaweed is to bring wealth;
dried bean curd is to bring the fulfillment of wealth
and happiness; bamboo shoots symbolize a greeting that
is similar to "All the best"; and gingko nuts represent
silver ingots.
Visitors are offered a circular or octagonal candy tray that's called "The Tray of Unity" (or togetherness). It is filled with candied melon for growth and good health; red melon seeds for joy, happiness, truth and sincerity; lychee nuts for strong family relationships; cumquats for prosperity; coconut for purity; peanuts for longevity; and lotus seeds for male offspring.
(Excerpted from "A Chinese Feast" from the Discovery Channel.)
Cuba - Twelve grapes are eaten at midnight , one for each month of the year.
Denmark - Boiled cod is the food of choice at New Year's.
Germany - Eating herring at midnight is said to bring good luck. Pork is also thought to bring good luck.
Greece - Vasilopita, a cake with a coin inside of it, is eaten. The person who gets the coin is said to have good luck throughout the coming year.
Holland - Ollie Bollen, a doughnut-like fritter,
is popular at the holiday.
Italy - "Otechino con lenticchie" (pork sausage served over lentils) is served in Italy . The pork is said to bring abundance while the lentils bring money.
Japan - Noodles are eaten at midnight in Buddhist temples. In addition, soba noodles are eaten by the general public for a long life, and Omochi cakes (sticky rice cakes) are eaten for good luck and health.
Mexico - Most people eat twelve grapes at midnight for good luck.
Phillipines - It's important to have food on the table at midnight in order to ensure plenty food in the New Year.
Poland - Pickled herring as the first thing on New Year's is said to bring good luck throughout the year.
Spain - Twelve grapes are eaten, one each at the stroke of midnight , to celebrate lucky years of the past and in the hope of a lucky year to come.
Venezula - Most people eat twelve grapes at midnight for good luck.
Vietnam - Tet Nguyen Dan or Tet is the Vietnamese New Year. It falls in either January or February for three days, though it is often celebrated for seven. Watermelon is often eaten - the redder the flesh, the more luck the family will have in the New Year.
Recipes
-
Recipes.com has New Year's recipes from several countries, including the US.
- About.com
has recipes to bring in the Chinese New Year.
For More Information
For more about the history and traditions of other holidays
celebrated during this time of year, please follow the
links below.
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