New Year’s Eve: Traditions At Table

There are many customs in Italy to celebrate New Year’s Eve even the table does not pull back the traditional dishes are also a wish to start the new year in the best way. The custom wants that the dinner of December 31 is based on fish, This is because being a rich dish could be a good omen. Have on the table an appetizer or a first based on lobster, oysters or shrimp is always a good way to end the year.

 Cotechino and lentils at New Year’s Eve

 Always considered a lucky food. The shape of lentils recalls that of small coins. Popular beliefs say that consuming lentils on the first day of the year bring good earnings. Lentils have become an excellent side dish for cooked sausages such as zampone or cotechino typical of Emilia Romagna. This is because the pig is also associated with abundance that is why even piggy banks have the characteristic shape.

Dried fruits and pomegranate

 The same Goddess Juno in the classical representation is often accompanied by pomegranate fruit as a symbol of good luck. It seems that the content of this fruit represents fertility and prosperity. And also for this reason that the custom of the last of the year is to wear red clothes that remind the seeds of this fruit. To earn prosperity in the new year you must consume 7 types of dried fruit and different: hazelnuts, peanuts, zibibbo, almonds, figs, dates and walnuts. Great luck to those who before the stroke of midnight managed to eat 12 grapes of the 12 seconds before the festivities.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do

 Beyond the good intentions for early January, each region has its own traditions. The Neapolitan New Year is based on cod and eel, while in Piedmont reign boiled meat and traditional appetizers. Lombardy is the homeland of panettone, now spread all over the country as a characteristic dessert of New Year’s Eve and Christmas time. If in Emilia Romagna dinner is based on meat with the classic cotechino, in Liguria fish dishes are served.

A toast to start the new year well

 It is not New Year’s Eve without a sparkling wine. Italy is rich in wines of excellent quality especially when it is necessary to have a party. A good Italian sparkling wine is what everybody needed to end the evening is to start the new year evil spirits. Tradition wants that dipping a finger in the sparkling wine and passing it just behind the ear will have good luck for the whole new year.