“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?
I am sitting here in my red undies, eating pork pie with lentils, and wondering what all the fuss is about!
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ahahaha! you started early!! better safe than sorry they say!
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😂
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I was living in Texas when I first learned about eating black eyed peas on Jan 1–for prosperity in the coming year. I’m not superstitious at all, but I have had it a few times “just in case.”
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Black eyed peas! I love learning about these traditions! are they meant to symbolise coins? I am trying to tick as many boxes as possible, “just in case”!
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Not sure about the exact symbolism. A friend just told me about it and was pretty adamant about it. LOL Good luck.
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ahaha must have been pretty convincing!
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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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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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I love how we are all talking about our traditions! I can’t see any emojis?
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Hi Nancy, I made that emoji my gravatar. It looks like your gravatar is your photo.
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Looks like you are ticking most of the boxes:pork meat, grape, red bra, all sorted! Is sauerkraut green? If so that’s another box ahaha! Fingers crossed for a better year, have a fantastic 2021!
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Hahaha. 🙂 Father Christmas has become stuck head first in the tree?
I think that the start of 2021 is going to be filled with lots of references to anything that might move the good luck. 🙂
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Ahaha exactly! I didn’t notice it immediately, only after I took the photo!! I will try to tick as many boxes as possible, “just in case”! Happy New Year!
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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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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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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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Ciao! I usually have ravioli with broth on the 26th, to “detox” ahaha! Caviar seems a very good idea, I wonder if it is because it is round shaped like coins? I love these traditions!
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Huh. I’d better get me some red underwear!!! Great, fun, and informative post! Happy New Year!
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ahaha thank you!! Happy New Year! ❤
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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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haha I can’t guarantee they are going to work unfortunately, but I try to do most of those things “just in case” ahaha!
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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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similar to what spaghetti mean for us – this is so cool!! thanks for sharing!
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This is such a fun read. In The Ph, people have 12 different round fruits on the table to invoke abundance for the next year. I have heard of the red underwear, too, and wearing polka dots.
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polka dots is a new one for me! so interesting!! I love the 12 fruit one, are they meant to be 12 different fruits?
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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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it is my pleasure, thank you so much for sharing this initiative!
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What name do you want to be added on your marker?
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Our tradition is on New Years Day. We have pork roast and sauerkraut.
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sounds lovely! is your tradition meant to bring luck?
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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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Thank you, Have a fantastic 2021! Maybe you are right, people didn’t wear the right underwear ahaha! Thanks for sharing your tradition! 🙂
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