by The Parmigiana Whisperer

Something red, something tasty

“There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.” ― Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic

When it comes to following traditions, Italy takes the matter seriously: fish on Christmas Eve, meat on Christmas Day, lentils on the 31st of December.

If the first two traditions are linked to religion, having lentils for New Year’s Eve is purely based on superstition: the shape of lentils is similar to coins, and it is believed that eating them will bring wealth and abundance for the year to come. Some people bring this further, and put some dry lentils in a red tissue that they will keep in a pocket all evening.

Another food eaten on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck is pork meat: pigs search for food with their noses moving forward, therefore this animal is considered as a symbol of progress. On the same note, on this day is preferable to avoid eating animals that move backwards, such as shrimps and lobsters, as they could symbolise stillness and delays in the new year.

The superstitions on this day don’t stop there: rice is another symbol of abundance that should always be on the table on this day; and if carbs weren’t enough already, spaghetti are considered a must as they represent a long life. Veggies are important as well: red chillies are meant to protect the family from bad energies, while green vegetables should be eaten to guarantee wealth and richness, as they have the same colour of money.

After the main course, dry fruit is usually served for good luck and abundance, followed by very specific desserts that have a similar purpose: marzipan and struffoli. The word marzipan derives from the Arab word “mauthaban”, which means coins,and struffoli are fried balls covered in honey, which again represent the coins that would go to the family eating this food.

The colour red is particularly important in Italy for New Year’s Eve: not only on the table, people usually wear red underwear to attract good luck for the new year.

Some families rigorously follow these traditions, while others might just have a little bit of lentils “just in case”: however, even the most logical and rational person, will probably wear red underwear!

What about you? Do you have any rituals for New Year’s Eve? What is your traditional food for this day?

Tree at York station last year! Can you spot something odd?

34 thoughts on “Something red, something tasty”

  3. We always have pork and sauerkraut on New Years Day a tradition from one side of the family and we always have grapes from the Italian side of the family. I don’t have red undies but I do have a red bra. Do you think that counts???? Anything to usher in 2021 with good luck.

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    1. Indeed, the red bra definitely counts! I love your emoi. Can you tell me how you added it to your reply? I can’t figure out how to do it! 🤦🏼‍♀️

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  5. I’m so glad you remembered the red underwear! I kept reading your post and finally I saw it! Molto importante! For the New Year I traditionally make pasta with either rabbit or boneless pork chops lightly browned in EVOO and simmered slowly in tomato sauce. The sauce from those two meats is more delicate in taste and lighter in color than a traditional red sauce. I like to plate the meat over lentils, just for good measure! Buon apetitto e buona festa! 🌟 🐖 🍝 🐇 🥂 🎊

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    1. The red underwear is a must ahaha! Those sauces sound amazing, I didn’t have rabbit for ages now – it is a very popular meat in Italy, but where I live it kind of gets frowned upon! Is cotechino/zampone popular in the USA? It is another popular food as it is pork meat, but I don’t like it at all! Buon appetito e buon anno carissima!! ❤

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  6. Wow this is a great post, very interesting! I’m Italian and in addition to all those other things we have pasta on Christmas Day (Ravioli) . My Russian friend would always have caviar on NYE she was very superstitious about that!

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  8. Very interesting! I didn’t know any of these traditions. As you were describing the foods I was building up a dinner menu and now I know what we’ll have for New Year’s Eve.

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  9. We, Japanese have “Toshikoshi soba”. It’s a kind of Japanese traditional noodle.
    Toshikoshi means “entering the new year.” Soba are buckwheat noodles.
    A theory has it that long soba noodles represent long life, so people eat them in hopes of longevity.

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      1. Yes, they have to be different! Polka dots is because of the coin reference. We also got your donation for the turtle eggs. Thank you very much! We will send you a message once your nest adoption has been processed. Many thanks for supporting the turtles!

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  12. Pingback: Something red, something tasty – Génération CFF

  13. I wonder if not enough people wore red underwear last year, it certainly was a bad one. As for our traditions for luck, pork and black eye peas are a must. Wishing you all the best in this new year.

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