Almost every country has at least one special food that is eaten on New Year’s Eve or the first days of the New Year that is believed to bring luck, wealth, or success next year. Whether you believe in these traditions or not, eating lucky foods can be in your favor.
The Japanese celebrate the New Year in great fashion. The celebration lasts 3 days, starting on January 1, and is declared with the inflexible practice of everyone who rests, even the cook. All food is prepared in advance so that the cook only needs to defrost, heat and serve.
Some of the foods that the Japanese believe to be especially fortunate include soba noodles. These are long noodles that must be sucked and eaten without breaking them to ensure a long life, and mochi rice, which is a more sticky rice than normal rice and is pressed into cakes that are cooked or they are eaten in soup.
The Greeks have a tradition of eating vasilopite (a cake baked with a coin inside). This cake is baked with a coin inside. The person who bites the piece of cake and finds the coin will be blessed with good luck next year.
Let the Italians incorporate the New Year in an extremely interesting way. They throw old things out their windows. Old things are thrown away with the goal of giving way to the new and the luck that will enter their homes and lives next year.
Italians eat a dish called cotechino con lenticchie: pork sausage served on lentils. This dish is eaten due to the presence of high-fat pork sausages and lentils on the dish. The cotechino sausage is a symbol of abundance because it is rich in fat, while lentils symbolize money (whether green and coin-shaped). This dish has a double stroke of luck!
You will not believe the food that is lucky in Spanish grapes! It is reported that at the beginning of the century, Spain experienced a gigantic harvest. The harvest was so great that the year is marked as a time of great luck.
The Spaniards have spent the new year eating 12 grapes while the clock strikes midnight. At every clock strike in the Plaza del Sol (which is broadcast across the country in the same way we broadcast the Time Square clock), another grape is eaten in celebration of the lucky past years and in the hope of a lucky year.
You may have wondered why champagne is considered the world’s most popular drink on New Year’s Eve. Although it originated in France, it is enjoyed all over the world. It is reported that champagne production houses dried up after World War I and did not recover until after World War II, when ordinances were passed to fix the price of champagne grapes to guarantee farmers a stable life.
It has been said that when we drink champagne, we are toasting the past, our strength to survive, as well as the hope that the richness of the champagne bubbles will influence next year.
Let’s not forget the United States of America. If you were asked what food was needed on the table for New Year’s Day, many say black-eyed peas. Black-eyed peas, also called cowpeas, are believed to bring wealth because they look like small coins. Also, when cooked, they swell, which is a sure sign of prosperity.
There is a saying that dictates eating habits in the US on New Year’s Day: “Eat poor on New Year’s Eve, eat fat the rest of the year.” A traditional New Year’s Eve meal included ham, cornbread, black-eyed peas and green-necked peas. Both black-eyed peas and necklaces are considered lucky fans at the dinner table.
Green greens are considered an essential part of this menu because they were considered lucky to be green, like the money on green tickets.
If you don’t traditionally have collard greens on your menu, here’s a recipe for Southern Collard Greens. Not only are they nutritious, but they will provide you with a nutritional gold mine, such as vitamins A and C, potassium and calcium, and are naturally low in fat, sodium and calories.
For more information on greens, contact me at the System Agriculture Division of the University of Arkansas in Miller County at 870-779-3609. I will gladly send the pamphlet, Enjoy Arkansas’ Fresh Greens.
Have a prosperous new year with your family!
Greens Collard of the South
7 1/4 cups water
1 3/4 pound ham sock
4 3/4 free of greens, rinsed and trimmed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Place the water and ham sachets in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the vegetables and hot pepper flakes to the pan. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add vegetable oil, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Yield: 6 servings.
For more information, contact the Miller County Extension Office at 870-779-3609, or visit us in Room 215 of the Miller County Courthouse. We are online at [email protected], on Facebook at UAEXMillerCountyFCS, on Twitter @MillerCountyFCS or on the web at uaex.edu/Miller.
Carla Due is a staff extension president for the Miller County Extension Service’s county extension agent, who is part of the University of Arkansas ’Division of Agriculture.