5 Fortuitous Foods for the New Year

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Grapes

Swap the champagne glass for 12 grapes. According to Latin culture, eating 12 grapes when the clock strikes midnight will bring good fortune. Each grape represents one month of the year. image: bridget shirvell
Greens

You’ll be a little healthier if you’re chowing on cabbage, kale, spinach and collard greens. Maybe even wealthier? Southern and European tradition says that eating foods that resemble money on New Year’s day will bring you wealth in the next year. image: green blender
Fish

In Poland, Germany and Scandinavia eating herring on New Year’s Day promises good fortune for the next 365 days. In China, they believe eating the whole fish, yes, we’re talking from head to tail, will result in a good year. image: Emily Reiter
Soba Noodles

A fixture in Japanese New Year festivities, soba noodles promote resiliency, bring a long, happy life, clean endings and new beginnings. There are a few tricks though. The longer the soba noodle the better and you must slurp not chew. image: olha_afanasieva

When the clock strikes 12, we’ll toast to the New Year. Most likely, we’ll have a glass of champagne in hand that we’ll use to celebrate and hope it gives us a bit of extra good fortune in the year ahead. Champagne isn’t the only lucky ingredient though. Various cultures across the globe mark the New Year with certain foods thought to be auspicious. After the ball drops, fireworks end and you get some sleep, wake up on Jan. 1 and indulge in one of these five fortuitous foods for the New Year.

Happy New Year!