5 amazing New Year food traditions from across the world
The entire holiday season is all about spending time with family and friends, taking time off from work, celebrating with music, dance and of course plenty of food! But apart from the usual spread of cakes, cookies, turkey, porkchops and everything that ooze party vibes, there are some traditional recipes that are served in different parts of the world during the New Year. Here are five of them for you!
Soba in Japan
The Japanese people welcome their New Year with a noodle bowl dish called toshikoshi soba (soupy noodle), commonly referred to as soba. While the length of the noodles or ‘soba’ is believed to symbolise a long life for whoever who gulps it down, the buckwheat flour the noodles are made of is said to provide resilience. However, the tradition is slurping the noodles at one go, otherwise the luck of the previous year may run out. It also represents letting go of the hardship of the last year in case a noodle gets broken or chewed in between.
12 grapes and a cheese in Spain
It is a tradition in Spain to pop down 12 grapes at each stroke of midnight. Why? Because the 12 grapes symbolise each upcoming month from the next year’s calendar. In fact, while eating the grapes people make wishes. In case a grape is bitter, it is believed that something bad is going to happen on that month and the wish won’t be fulfilled. So, it is better to watch out. Interestingly, the Spanish people also eat a cheese block at the end for some extra luck. Apart from Spain, other Latin American countries also follow this tradition.
Tossing pomegranate in Greece
There’s this New Year tradition in Greece where families gather around their front doors and as soon as the clock strikes midnight on the New Year’s Eve, they toss a pomegranate each. The more pomegranate seeds fall out, the more luck and prosperity awaits that family and household for the rest of the year. So, if you are in Greece on 31st December and get to try out this ritual, make sure to throw your fruit hard! Usually, the seeds that still remain inside are made into juices almost immediately and drunk, so that the luck doesn’t ever run out of that home. How fascinating is that!
Lentils and legumes in Italy
The ancient Romans often welcomed a brand-new year by gifting each other leather bags full of lentils and legumes. They were expected to turn into gold coins if the recipients were good throughout the past year. The tradition has survived till date. However, now, the Italians give lentils and legumes to one another and turn them into New Year Eve’s dinner dishes.
Tamales in Mexico
Often mistaken as lasagne, tamale is a traditional Mexican dish that is made up of cornmeal dough. The dough was stuffed with various ingredients such as meat, veggies, sweet filling and then steamed (like momos) in corn husks. It is often prepared ahead of the New Year’s Eve by family members together and are then eaten as part of 31st December dinner. Tamales represent generations of familial bonds and togetherness.