6 hours Ago By [email protected] (Stephen Bradley)
During the majority of the year, food mainly serves as a source of nourishment. But when a holiday rolls around, certain foods take on another function. Many cultures look at what they eat and drink as symbols that represent the meaning behind a celebrated holiday.
New Year's Eve is a holiday with a two-fold outlook: a retrospective appreciation for the past year and a forward-looking optimism for an upcoming year of literal and figurative fortune. Various ethnic groups around the world channel their , and many ring in the New Year with round fruit. For many cultures, round fruit — with a shape similar to that of a coin — symbolizes money, and eating round fruit is said to increase one's luck for a productive and prosperous year.
In the Philippines, the custom varies between preparing 12 or 13 different round fruits, such as apples, pineapples, oranges, and grapes. Certain European countries share this tradition, but they tend to stick to 12 fruits. is also a tradition in Spanish and Latin American communities, which represents kicking off a fruitful year ahead.
In both traditions, the number 12 correlates to the 12 months in a year and reflects a holistic hope for a successful year. Other global New Year's Eve food traditions For the Chinese New Year, families and communities prepare an entire fish to bring luck. In Chinese, the words "fish" and "abundance" sound similar, so eating fish represents the hope for a productive and lucrative year.
Similar to the number 12 symbolizing hope for a full year of good fortune, fish in Chinese celebrations are often cooked from nose to tail to bring about luck for the entire year. In Italy and Hungary, lentils — which also resemble coins — symbolize wealth. When cooked in soup, lentils absorb the liquid and grow in size, suggesting productivity and improvement.
Other European countries, such as Germany and Austria, eat suckling pig and pig-shaped marzipan. In these cultures, pigs symbolize good luck and toy pigs are often gifted as a way to spread a lucky upcoming year. Instead of merely , channel a culture's food custom to chime in even more luck for a healthy and happy New Year.
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