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What food are you supposed to eat on New Year’s depends entirely on where you’re from and which superstitions your family takes seriously. From black-eyed peas in the American South to grapes at midnight in Spain, cultures around the world have specific foods they believe bring good luck, prosperity, and health for the coming year. Some of these traditions go back centuries, others are more recent, but they all share the belief that what you eat on New Year’s Day sets the tone for the next 12 months.
Here’s the interesting part: these aren’t just random foods people decided were lucky. Most of them have symbolic meanings tied to wealth, progress, or abundance. Round foods represent coins and prosperity. Long noodles symbolize longevity. Green vegetables look like money. Once you know the symbolism, the traditions start making a lot more sense. And if you’re planning a New Year’s gathering where you want to incorporate some of these traditions without spending days in the kitchen, try CaterAI where you can request specific traditional dishes and it’ll find caterers who can prepare them properly.
The Symbolism Behind New Year’s Foods
Before we dive into specific foods, it helps to understand the common themes that run through New Year’s food traditions across cultures.
Wealth and prosperity foods are the most common. Anything that looks like coins or money (round foods, green foods, golden foods) shows up repeatedly. The idea is that eating foods that represent wealth will bring actual wealth in the new year.
Forward motion and progress are represented by foods you eat while moving forward. This is why you’re not supposed to eat chicken or turkey on New Year’s in some traditions because birds scratch backward. Fish swim forward, so fish is good luck.
Abundance is symbolized by foods that are plentiful or that expand when cooked. Legumes swell when you cook them, representing growing fortunes. Foods with many seeds represent fertility and abundance.
Long life gets represented by long foods, particularly noodles. The longer the noodle, the longer your life will be. You’re supposed to eat them without cutting or breaking them.
Sweetness for the new year is why many cultures eat honey, dates, or sweet cakes. You’re literally trying to make the new year sweet.
American Southern Traditions
The American South has the most well-known New Year’s food traditions in the United States, and they’re all about prosperity and luck.
Black-Eyed Peas
This is the big one in Southern tradition. Black-eyed peas are supposed to bring good luck and prosperity for the new year. The tradition likely comes from the Civil War era when black-eyed peas were one of the few foods left after Union troops had taken everything else. They became a symbol of luck and survival.
The peas themselves are small and round like coins, which ties into the prosperity symbolism. You’re supposed to eat them on New Year’s Day, traditionally in a dish called Hoppin’ John which combines black-eyed peas with rice, pork, and seasonings.
Some people eat exactly 365 black-eyed peas (one for each day of the year), though that seems excessive. Most just eat a healthy serving and call it good luck.
Collard Greens
Collard greens represent money because they’re green like dollar bills. The more greens you eat, the more money you’ll make in the coming year. This is why you’ll often see huge servings of collard greens at New Year’s meals in the South.
The greens are traditionally cooked with pork (which has its own lucky symbolism) and pot liquor, which is the nutrient-rich liquid left from cooking the greens. Some traditions say you should eat greens on New Year’s Day and put a dollar bill under your dinner plate to ensure prosperity.
Cornbread
Cornbread represents gold and additional prosperity. The golden color is the whole point here. It’s often served alongside black-eyed peas and collard greens to complete the Southern New Year’s trinity of luck foods.
The combination of black-eyed peas (coins), collard greens (money), and cornbread (gold) is supposed to cover all your financial bases for the new year.
Pork
Pork shows up in many New Year’s traditions because pigs root forward with their snouts, symbolizing progress. You’re moving forward into the new year, not backward. Pork also represents prosperity because pigs are traditionally wealthy, fat animals.
In the South, pork might be served as ham hocks in the collard greens, as part of Hoppin’ John, or as a separate pork roast. Any form of pork counts.
Spanish and Latin American Traditions
Spanish-speaking countries have their own distinctive New Year’s food customs, some of which have spread to other cultures.
Twelve Grapes at Midnight
This is probably the most widely known Spanish New Year’s tradition. At the stroke of midnight, you eat twelve grapes, one for each chime of the clock. Each grape represents one month of the coming year, and you need to eat all twelve before the last bell stops ringing.
If you manage to eat all twelve grapes in time, you’ll have twelve months of good luck. If you don’t finish, well, you might be in for a rough year. This tradition started in Spain but has spread throughout Latin America and is practiced by many Hispanic communities worldwide.
The grapes need to be seedless unless you want to choke at midnight trying to swallow seeds while rushing to beat the clock. People take this tradition seriously and will practice beforehand to make sure they can actually pull it off.
Lentils
In many Latin American countries, lentils are eaten at midnight or on New Year’s Day for prosperity. Lentils are small, round, and plentiful, symbolizing coins and abundance. Some traditions say you should eat lentils at midnight, others say to carry them in your pocket or purse for the first few days of the year.
Italian-American communities also eat lentils on New Year’s for the same prosperity symbolism. Lentil soup is a common New Year’s Day dish.
Tamales
In Mexican tradition, tamales are a celebratory food served on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. They don’t have specific luck symbolism, but they represent abundance, family, and tradition. Making tamales is a labor-intensive process that brings families together, which makes them perfect for welcoming the new year.
The masa (corn dough) is sometimes seen as representing prosperity and nourishment for the coming year.
Asian New Year Food Traditions
While many Asian cultures celebrate Lunar New Year as their primary new year celebration, some of these traditions also appear for the Western New Year, and the symbolism carries over.
Long Noodles
In Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian cultures, long noodles represent longevity. The longer the noodle, the longer your life will be. You’re supposed to eat the noodles without cutting or breaking them, which can be challenging with really long noodles.
Slurping is encouraged because it means you’re enthusiastically embracing a long life. The noodles can be served in soup or stir-fried, but the key is keeping them whole and eating them entirely.
Dumplings
Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) are shaped like ancient Chinese gold ingots, so they represent wealth and prosperity. The more dumplings you eat, the more money you’ll make in the new year.
Some families hide a coin in one dumpling, and whoever gets that dumpling will have especially good fortune. Modern versions use a peanut instead of a coin for safety reasons.
The act of making dumplings together as a family is also part of the tradition, bringing everyone together to prepare for the new year.
Fish
Fish is another important New Year’s food in Chinese culture. The word for fish (yu) sounds like the word for surplus or abundance, so eating fish is supposed to bring abundance in the coming year.
The fish should be served whole with the head and tail intact, symbolizing a good beginning and end to the year. You’re supposed to leave some fish uneaten to ensure surplus carries into the new year, though whether people actually follow this part varies.
Rice Cakes
In Japanese tradition, mochi (rice cakes) are eaten around the New Year. The round shape represents family unity and the coming together of the old year and new year. Mochi is sticky, symbolizing the bonds between family and friends.
Korean tteokguk (rice cake soup) is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day. Eating the soup is said to grant the eater good luck for the year and to add one year to their age (in traditional Korean age reckoning).
European New Year Food Traditions
European countries have their own sets of traditional New Year’s foods, many of which were brought to America by immigrants.
Cabbage
In Germany and several Eastern European countries, cabbage represents prosperity. Like collard greens in the South, cabbage is green and leafy like money. Sauerkraut specifically is a common New Year’s dish.
The tradition is that you should eat as much cabbage or sauerkraut as you want to make in the new year. Some versions say the leaves represent dollar bills.
Pork and Sauerkraut
The combination of pork and sauerkraut is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that’s spread throughout the Mid-Atlantic states. The pork represents progress (moving forward) and prosperity, while the sauerkraut represents wealth.
This meal is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day, and many families won’t skip it because they believe it actually works. There are plenty of anecdotal stories about people who skipped the tradition one year and had bad luck.
Lentils and Sausages
In Italy, lentils with cotechino (pork sausage) is the traditional New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day meal. The lentils represent coins and prosperity, and you eat them at midnight or shortly after.
The dish is called “lenticchie e cotechino” and it’s taken seriously. Many Italians living abroad will go out of their way to make or find this dish for New Year’s.
Herring
In Poland, Germany, and Scandinavian countries, pickled herring is eaten on New Year’s Eve or Day. Herring are silvery, representing silver and wealth. They also swim in large schools, representing abundance.
The fish also ties into the forward-motion symbolism since fish swim forward. Herring specifically might have become traditional because it was plentiful and cheap, making it accessible to everyone.
King Cake and Special Breads
Many European countries have special breads or cakes for New Year. In Greece, Vasilopita is a cake with a coin baked inside. Whoever gets the slice with the coin will have good luck all year.
Similar traditions exist in France, Spain, and other countries. The round shape represents the cycle of the year, and the hidden coin represents prosperity.
Foods to Avoid on New Year’s
Just as there are lucky foods, many traditions include foods you should NOT eat on New Year’s because they bring bad luck.
Chicken and Poultry
Chickens scratch backward for their food, which symbolizes dwelling on the past or going backward in life. Many traditions say you should avoid chicken on New Year’s Day for this reason. You want to move forward, not backward.
This applies to turkey and other fowl too in some traditions. Some people extend it to eggs as well, though that’s less common.
Lobster
Lobsters move backward, so they’re considered bad luck on New Year’s. You don’t want to go backward in the new year. This one is less widespread than the chicken taboo, but it exists in some New England traditions.
White Foods (In Some Traditions)
Some cultures avoid white foods like white bread or white rice on New Year’s because white represents death and mourning. This tradition isn’t universal, but it exists in parts of Asia and Europe.
Canned or Processed Foods
Some modern interpretations of New Year’s traditions say you should avoid canned or processed foods because they represent a lack of freshness and abundance. Starting the year with fresh, whole foods is supposed to set a better tone.
Regional American Variations
Beyond the South, different regions of the US have developed their own New Year’s food traditions, often based on the immigrant populations that settled there.
Pennsylvania Dutch Country
The pork and sauerkraut combination is essential here. It’s eaten on New Year’s Day specifically, and people genuinely believe in its power to bring good luck. Missing this meal is considered risky.
New England
Baked beans are a New England New Year’s tradition in some families. Like other legumes, beans represent prosperity and coins. The tradition likely comes from the region’s historical reliance on beans as a staple food.
Southwest
In areas with Mexican-American influence, pozole (hominy soup) is a common New Year’s dish. The corn represents abundance and sustenance. Black-eyed peas might be combined with Southwestern spices and peppers.
Midwest
In parts of the Midwest with German heritage, pork and sauerkraut are traditional. Some areas also emphasize eating round foods like donuts or cookies for prosperity.
Drinks That Bring Good Luck
It’s not just about food. What you drink at midnight matters too in some traditions.
Champagne
Champagne at midnight is nearly universal in Western culture. The bubbles represent joy and celebration. Some say the bubbles rising represent prosperity rising in the new year.
Toasting at midnight with champagne is supposed to bring good fortune, and you should make sure to clink glasses with everyone present to share the luck.
Wassail
In old English tradition, wassail (a hot mulled cider drink) was shared on New Year’s. The word itself means “be in good health.” Sharing wassail was a way to wish health and prosperity on your community.
Wine
In some Italian traditions, drinking red wine on New Year’s represents good health and vitality for the coming year. The red color symbolizes life and energy.
Modern Takes on New Year’s Food Traditions
You don’t have to follow traditions exactly as they’ve always been done. Modern interpretations make these customs more accessible and practical.
Some people do fusion versions of traditional dishes. Black-eyed pea hummus, for example, honors the tradition while making it more versatile. Asian-Southern fusion might combine collard greens with Asian seasonings.
Others focus on the symbolism rather than specific dishes. Any green vegetable for prosperity, any long pasta for longevity, any round food for coins. This lets you honor the spirit of the tradition while eating foods you actually like.
Some families pick one or two traditions to follow rather than trying to incorporate everything. Maybe you eat twelve grapes at midnight but skip the collard greens, or you make dumplings but don’t worry about the pork.
The point of food traditions is to mark the occasion and set intentions for the new year. As long as you’re being intentional about it, the specific execution is up to you.
Incorporating Traditions into Your New Year’s Gathering
If you’re hosting a New Year’s party and want to include some of these traditional foods, there are ways to do it that feel fun rather than forced.
Set up a twelve grapes station at 11:45pm with small bowls of seedless grapes ready for everyone. Make it a communal activity where everyone counts down and eats together. It’s fun and participatory.
Create a “good luck buffet” with small portions of several traditional foods: black-eyed peas, collard greens, dumplings, noodles, lentils. Let people try different traditions and learn about the symbolism behind each.
Serve traditional foods as appetizers throughout the night. Dumplings, pork sliders, lentil soup shooters. People eat them casually without it feeling like a formal traditional meal.
Make the traditional meal your New Year’s Day brunch or lunch rather than midnight food. Hoppin’ John, collard greens, and cornbread make a great New Year’s Day meal that feels special and honors tradition.
If you’re organizing a larger New Year’s event and want to incorporate multiple cultural traditions without cooking everything yourself, try CaterAI and specify that you want dishes representing different New Year’s traditions. Tell it something like “New Year’s Eve party for 50 people, want black-eyed peas, dumplings, and Mediterranean lentils, each representing different cultural traditions” and it’ll find caterers who can provide authentic versions of these dishes.
Do These Traditions Actually Work?
This is the question everyone wonders but doesn’t always ask out loud. Do lucky foods actually bring good fortune?
From a practical standpoint, eating lucky foods doesn’t magically create success. But there’s something to be said for the power of intention and tradition. Starting the year by being intentional about what you eat and what you hope for the coming year creates a mindful moment. You’re setting intentions, marking the passage of time, and connecting with cultural history.
The foods themselves are often nutritious and substantial. Black-eyed peas have protein and fiber. Greens are packed with nutrients. Fish provides omega-3s. Long noodles give you energy. Starting the year with a solid, nourishing meal isn’t a bad strategy regardless of superstition.
The communal aspect matters too. Many of these traditions involve gathering with family and friends to share food. That social connection and sense of belonging is genuinely good for your wellbeing and sets a positive tone for the year.
Whether the specific foods bring luck is debatable. Whether the practice of gathering, being intentional, and starting the year with good food and good company brings positive momentum is less debatable. That probably matters more than whether you ate exactly twelve grapes.
The Bottom Line on New Year’s Foods
Food traditions for New Year’s exist across cultures because humans like marking time with ritual and symbolism. The specific foods vary wildly depending on where you’re from, but the themes are universal: prosperity, health, progress, and abundance.
You don’t need to follow every tradition. Pick the ones that resonate with your background or that sound interesting to you. Maybe you grew up eating black-eyed peas and that tradition matters to you. Maybe you want to try something new this year like the twelve grapes or long noodles.
The beauty of food traditions is that they give you a framework for celebration and intention-setting while also just being an excuse to eat good food with people you care about. And honestly, starting the year with a good meal surrounded by people you love isn’t a bad luck charm at all, it’s just good sense.
New Year’s Food Traditions Quick Reference:
For Prosperity and Wealth:
- Black-eyed peas (American South)
- Collard greens or cabbage (American South, Germany, Eastern Europe)
- Lentils (Italy, Latin America)
- Cornbread (American South)
- Fish (China, multiple cultures)
- Dumplings (China)
- Grapes at midnight (Spain, Latin America)
For Longevity:
- Long noodles, unbroken (China, Japan)
- Herring (Poland, Germany, Scandinavia)
For Progress and Moving Forward:
- Pork in any form (American South, Germany, Portugal)
- Fish (China, multiple cultures)
For Good Luck and Happiness:
- Twelve grapes at midnight (Spain, Latin America)
- Mochi or rice cakes (Japan, Korea)
- Champagne at midnight (Western tradition)
- Tamales (Mexico)
For Sweetness in the New Year:
- Honey
- Sweet cakes or pastries
- Dates
Foods to Avoid:
- Chicken and poultry (scratches backward)
- Lobster (moves backward)
- White foods in some traditions (association with death/mourning)
How to Honor Traditions:
- Pick 2-3 traditions that resonate with you rather than trying to do everything
- Learn the symbolism and share it with guests
- Make it interactive (like everyone eating grapes at midnight)
- Combine traditions from different cultures
- Focus on intention-setting rather than perfection
- Make it fun, not stressful
- Start new traditions that feel meaningful to your family
Whether you follow one tradition or combine several, the point is marking the new year with intention, good food, and hopefully good company. The luck comes from the mindfulness and celebration, not from any magical properties of black-eyed peas or grapes. Though if the peas help you feel more confident about the coming year, eat the peas.
