New Year’s day is a time to celebrate new beginnings. A great way to do so is to learn about how different countries around the world celebrate, more specifically, what traditional cuisine they enjoy for the holiday. 

     Scrumptious southern celebration:

     The Southern United States has plenty of traditional New Year’s dishes that act as symbols of good luck for the coming year. Southerners enjoy cornbread, pork, collard greens, and even black-eyed peas. The cornbread is said to symbolize gold. Pork is considered to be a sign of prosperity. Collard greens represent good fortune, and similarly, black-eyed peas symbolize wealth. 

     Spain’s celebratory custom:

     In Spain, it is a custom to eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year’s. The 12 grapes symbolize the 12 months of the year, one for each month. This custom represents good luck for the coming months leading up to the next year. 

     Italian eats:

     Italians enjoy lentils on New Year’s. This is due to their coin-like shape, which is considered to symbolize prosperity for the new year. 

     Turkish traditions:

     Pomegranates are the traditional food in Turkey, but not to eat, instead, they are smashed in the doorways of homes. The amount of seeds that fly out during the smashing represents the amount of good luck that will come with the new year. 

     Armenian aliment:

     In Armenia, families traditionally bake a loaf of bread. The bread is a large, flat loaf known as tarehats or gata. A single walnut or coin is baked into the bread, and the family member who finds it while enjoying the treat is considered to have the most luck for the rest of the year.

    There are so many ways that New Year’s is celebrated across the world, but one thing is shared between them, food. This year, consider participating in a worldly tradition to start the new year off with new experiences. Perhaps the traditions of other countries really will bring good luck and fortune in the new year. 

     For more information visit https://food52.com/blog/23574-new-years-eve-traditions-food-around-the-world and https://www.thespruceeats.com/southern-new-years-day-dinner-3057537