Even if it’s pure superstition that eating a certain food or adopting a habit will change your luck, sometimes you may think, well, why not? Here are a few traditions from around the world that are associated with good fortune -- and even fertility -- at the start of a new year:
GoodHousekeeping.com reports Asian countries eat long noodles on New Year’s Day in the hopes of greater longevity (don’t break the noodle before the length of it is in your mouth!). Black-eyed peas eaten on New Year’s Day are a long-standing American tradition originating in the South. In Ireland and Germany they eat cabbage (its color is linked to money), reports the site. Mediterranean countries, says the site, eat pomegranates – a long-time symbol of abundance and fertility.
Smithsonian.com reports that pork has a long history as an animal and food associated with prosperity (“the pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward while rooting around for food,” the site says). Fish, the article continues, are a strong fertility symbol because they produce multiple eggs at one time.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s site adds grapes to the list of good-luck foods (at midnight Spaniards eat 12 grapes – one for each chime of the hour or each month of the year), lentils (also symbolizing money), and cakes (Greeks eat the Vasilopita cake, which has a coin baked into it; the person who finds it has luck in the new year.)
What New Year’s traditions do you have for ringing good luck and prosperity?
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