International New Year's Foods: From Italy to China to Greece to the United States

Recently, my family was planning our menu for New Year's as some relatives will be visiting from out of town. We all discussed what the traditional New Year's foods were and what else we could add to our menu for a bit of variety. This brought us to a little research about foods that other countries consider lucky for New Year's.

Of course, most people in the United States must have their black-eyed peas and collard greens. here in the south, the two come complete with ham of some variety and cornbread. There is some confusion about the meaning of eating black eyed peas and collard greens. I have a friend from New jersey who states that both simply mean good luck. I advised her that the black eyed peas represent your coins and the collard greens represent your green money or your dollar bills. She had never heard of this meaning of the two foods, but i assured her anyone in the south is familiar with this. But what can we add to represent customs and traditions of other countries?

In Italy , families traditionally eat a dish called cotechino con lenticchie or pork sausage over lentils. It is thought that the pork, which is high in fat, represents luck, while the lentils, that are both green and round, represent money. If you eat this dish, you are considered to be bestowing a double blessing on you and your family. (www.123newyear.com) I have an Italian friend who is three generations removed, but her family still makes this New Years dish to this day.

A traditional new year's meal in China always starts with noodles. It is best to cook long noodles, and to try and not break them up when eating them. The noodles represent longevity. So if you break a noodle, you might not be blessed with long life. You often will find Chinese families eating some type of dish or soup with dumplings. In Chinese tradition, any type of dumpling represents wealth. (www.foodnetwork/foods/chinesenewyear.com)