Every January first my family has a tradition of eating a tasty dish of "Hoppin' John" made of rice, black eyed peas and ham to bring luck into our new year.

Want to bring a little luck or prosperity into your new year? Then maybe you just might want to eat a helping or two of these foods .

I mean if "Hoppin' John" doesn't appeal to you or just eating straight up black eyed peas either then how about these traditional lucky foods from around the world to bring you good fortune I found through Epicurious.

Grapes - In Spain you eat 12 grapes for each strike of clock on midnight New Years Day. In "Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru. Each grape represents a different month, so if for instance the third grape is a bit sour, March might be a rocky month. For most, the goal is to swallow all the grapes before the last stroke of midnight, but Peruvians insist on taking in a 13th grape for good measure."

Cooked Greens - cabbage, collards, kale, and chard simply because the green leaves look like folded money. "The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, the Germans consume sauerkraut (cabbage) while in the southern United States, collards are the green of choice. It's widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one's fortune next year."

Legumes - beans, peas (black eyed peas), and lentils represent money too because they're small and almost round like coins.

In "Italy, it's customary to eat cotechino con lenticchie  a dish of sausages and green lentils. Germans also partner legumes and pork, usually lentil or split pea soup with sausage. In Brazil, the first meal of the New Year is usually lentil soup or lentils and rice, and in Japan, the osechi-ryori, a group of symbolic dishes eaten during the first three days of the new year, includes sweet black beans called kuro-mame. In the Southern United States, it's traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called hoppin' john. see my grandma taught us well.

Pork - Eating pork is because pigs represent progress also it signifies wealth due to the fat in pigs.. "Roast pig is served in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria. In Sweden they eat pigs feet and Germans eat roast pork or sausages. Italy and the U.S. also eats pork too. (That's where the ham bits in 'Hoppin John' comes in.)

Fish - "The Danish eat boiled cod, Italy, baccalà, (a dried salt cod) Poland and Germany enjoy Herring. In Sweden they have a "smorgasbord with a variety of fish dishes". Japan eats "herring roe for fertility, shrimp for long life, and dried sardines for a good harvest (sardines were once used to fertilize rice fields)."

Cakes - "Italy serves chiacchiere,honey-drenched balls of pasta dough fried and dusted with powdered sugar. Poland, Hungary, and the Netherlands eat donuts.

Some countries will hide "special trinkets or coin in the cake. Mexico serves rosca de reyes,  a ring-shaped cake decorated with candied fruit and baked with one or more surprises inside. In Greece, a special round cake called vasilopita is baked with a coin hidden inside. Sweden and Norway have similar rituals in which they hide a whole almond in rice pudding—whoever gets the nut is guaranteed great fortune in the new year."

Now most of those all sound great. You know you could serve s smorgasbord of your own on New Years Day and make sure you, your guests and family all have really good luck with great food for the new year, just make sure to not include these items as these do not bring good fortune.

Do not serve these for New Years:

Lobster - they crawl backwards and "leads to setbacks."

Chicken  - "the bird scratches backwards, which could cause regret or dwelling on the past." Actually it said that you shouldn't eat any "winged fowl because good luck could fly away."

Whatever you decide to eat today, we here at Q98.5 want to wish you a happy, healthy and blessed new year!

 

 

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