Many countries choose to eat fish on New Year’s Eve to symbolize fullness, or red beans for good luck….
Vasilopita is a traditional Greek coffee cake, when baked, people add a coin inside. If someone eats a cake on New Year’s Eve and wins a coin, that person will receive good luck in the coming year.
Japanese people eat soba noodles at New Year’s Eve. Noodles are made from long buckwheat to symbolize a long life, eaters will not cut the noodles but slurp until they run out.
Rosca de reyes is a toast with the shape of a ring and the surface is fruity. Inside the cake also contains some jewelry symbolizing good luck.
In addition to the above toast, Mexico is famous for its unique dishes from corn and Tamales is also one of them. At first glance, it looks like Vietnamese leaf-wrapped cakes, but Tamales is a corn dish “from the inside out”, when the cake is corn flour with meat, fat, vegetables, cheese wrapped in corn leaves, and then thoroughly steamed. in 2 hours.
Tamales appeared in Mexican life very early and are believed to have originated in the times of the Aztec, Maya and Inca tribes. This cake appears in most special occasions in Mexico and the New Year time is no exception. At New Year’s Eve, people here often have a tradition of the whole family getting together and making Tamales for a New Year’s Eve party.
One theory is that black-eyed peas were considered lucky because they were the food that helped soldiers survive previous civil wars.
Usually, Sweden and Norway place an almond in their pudding or rice cake to symbolize prosperity in the coming year.
The Argentinians hope that eating beans on New Year’s Day will help them go smoothly at work or find a better thing.
Tteokguk is a Korean soup containing rice cakes, meat and vegetables with the meaning of bringing good luck. Korea also considers the New Year as a birthday celebration, with each bowl of tteokguk representing one year of age. So the common question during the Korean New Year is “how many bowls of tteokguk have you eaten?” as an interesting way of asking age.
Germans welcome the New Year with fried cakes filled with jam or wine called Pfannkuchens. Homemade breads in the shape of circles, octagons, hearts, pyramids pray that bad things will be eliminated, a new year with many good things will come. In addition, they also enjoy delicious roasted pork with relatives and friends. Germans also believe that eating carrots and cabbage will bring financial stability.
Faloodeh is a dessert made with vermicelli and sweet syrup, made for many special occasions in Persia, one of which is the New Year celebration.
Unmarried women in Belarus use corn kernels to see who will get married first in the new year. Each person will place a handful of corn kernels in front of them and release the rooster. Whoever’s chicken eats the seeds first will be the first to get married.
Oliebollen is a type of donut that is deep-fried in oil and filled with apples, pineapples or grapes. The Dutch believe that if you enjoy this cake on New Year’s Day, you will receive the best things. The Dutch custom of eating greasy donuts on New Year’s Eve is rooted in the belief that on New Year’s Eve, Goddess Bertha will fly across the sky, along with evil spirits in the dark. cold, knife in hand, cutting away any empty stomach. If I eat greasy donuts, her knife will slip.
When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, Spaniards will eat 12 grapes, representing each month. The sweet taste of grapes will represent a good month, while the sour fruit will be a bad omen.
Poland usually enjoys pickled herring at midnight on New Year’s Eve, along with smoked fish and some other pickled fish. It is said that this food will make a new year prosperous and bountiful.
Fish and dumplings are the most important dishes in the Chinese New Year’s Eve meal. These two dishes carry the meaning of prosperity and satiety. In particular, the word “fish” pronounced in Chinese is almost similar to the word “surplus” in “surplus”.
Along with fish, Italians love to eat lentils during New Year celebrations. Because they look like coins, round beads are said to symbolize good luck and prosperity in the new year.
In both Austria and Cuba, roasting a roast suckling pig over an open fire is considered a traditional New Year’s celebration. Both nations, along with many others, believe that pigs represent wealth and good luck.
Türkiye eats pomegranates on New Year’s Eve, which symbolizes fertility and abundance for the years to come.
One minute before midnight on New Year’s Eve, people in El Salvador break an egg into a glass of water. When the clock strikes 12 o’clock, everyone will see how their yolks, if intact, represent a good new year.