With each new year we hope for joy, riches, luck, health, and more! In Italy, they feast, hoping that the dishes they eat will usher in the positive energy they want to see in the new year. A bowl of lentils, much like a bowl of hundreds of coins, hopes to bring prosperity often eaten with a fatty (abundance) and rich (wealth) meat: pork. Another traditional dish is risotto, as the rice swells and grows in the pan, much like you’d wish for your wealth in the coming year!
Regardless of which dishes were cooked, Italians enjoy some grapes after dinner. The ability to save some from harvest is representative of their frugality that will help maintain their riches in the new year. Although Italy’s symbolism seems tightly tied to money, monetary riches are hardly the wealth Italians treasure most. With their large families and close communities we know it’s the wealth of a full room and warm stomachs that they treasure the most. Happy New Year, let’s hope it’s filled with more joy and happiness than this past one!