7 lucky party dishes from all over the world
1.Ring-Shaped Cakes:
Ring-shaped cakes and other baked goods symbolize wholeness and the completion of a full year’s cycle. In Greece, there’s vasilopita, a round, anise-flavored cake with a coin hidden inside; in Mexico, they make rosca de reyes, a sweet, ring-shaped bread that’s studded with dried fruit and baked with a tiny figurine of baby Jesus inside; and a long-held Dutch tradition is to feast on puffy, doughnut-like fritters called oliebollen, which are filled with apples and raisins and dusted with powdered sugar.
2.Dumplings:
Dumplings resemble the gold ingots that were once China’s currency, eating them represents the hope for an auspicious new year. If you’re making them yourself, however, look out: superstition warns against counting the dumplings for fear that it will lead to scarcity in the new year. Another ancient belief that doubles as a teaching moment: any bad feelings between family members must be resolved before the dumplings are cooked; if they’re not, evil spirits will steal them.
3.Fish:
In China, a whole steamed fish symbolizes a long and healthy life and oysters and prawns are lucky, too. In Poland, one serves pickled herring at midnight; in Italy, dried salt cod stars in a variety of holiday dishes; and in Germany, you simply can’t celebrate the day without noshing on carp, which often appears in a stew. Germans take it one step further, though — many tuck a few carp scales into their wallets afterward to keep from running out of money in the following year.
4.Grapes:
In Spain, New Year’s Eve means one thing: a whole lot of grapes. At midnight, everyone from grandmothers to teenagers starts popping the fruit into their mouths one-by-one, in time with the local clock tower’s chimes. The saying goes that if you manage to swallow all twelve before the last stroke of midnight, you can count on a prosperous year. Today, the custom is also going strong in Portugal, Cuba, Venezuela and a handful of other countries.
5.Greens:
The leaves of greens are thought to resemble folded money and supposedly portend a rise in economic fortune. In Germany, sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) is a New Year’s must; in Denmark, it’s kale sweetened with cinnamon and sugar, and in this country, sautéed collard greens are an integral part of a New Year’s meal. In Iran and other countries that celebrate the Persian New Year, fresh herbs, which represent fruitfulness in the coming year, find their way into rice dishes and oven-baked omelets.
6.Legumes:
Some believe you can increase your chances of getting rich by feasting on beans, peas and lentils over the holiday. Their small, round shape is reminiscent of coins; plus, legumes swell when they’re cooked, which symbolizes growing wealth. One of the most famous of such New Year’s dishes, which is eaten widely in the South, is hoppin’ john, a soup made of black-eyed peas and rice. In northern Italy, it’s customary to eat green lentils and pork sausage just after midnight, and in Brazil, the first meal of the new year is often lentil soup.
7.Pork:
The high fat content in pork signifies wealth and prosperity; plus, pigs push their snouts forward when rooting for food, which represents progress. (In contrast, turkeys and chickens scratch backward for their food. For that reason, and the superstition that happiness will fly away with the birds’ feathers, many people avoid poultry for the New Year.) Suckling pig is a favorite at New Year’s meals in Russia, Austria, Hungary and Portugal; in Germany, you’ll find roasted pork and sausages, and in Sweden, pork trotters.
Source: babble
1.Ring-Shaped Cakes:
Ring-shaped cakes and other baked goods symbolize wholeness and the completion of a full year’s cycle. In Greece, there’s vasilopita, a round, anise-flavored cake with a coin hidden inside; in Mexico, they make rosca de reyes, a sweet, ring-shaped bread that’s studded with dried fruit and baked with a tiny figurine of baby Jesus inside; and a long-held Dutch tradition is to feast on puffy, doughnut-like fritters called oliebollen, which are filled with apples and raisins and dusted with powdered sugar.
2.Dumplings:
Dumplings resemble the gold ingots that were once China’s currency, eating them represents the hope for an auspicious new year. If you’re making them yourself, however, look out: superstition warns against counting the dumplings for fear that it will lead to scarcity in the new year. Another ancient belief that doubles as a teaching moment: any bad feelings between family members must be resolved before the dumplings are cooked; if they’re not, evil spirits will steal them.
3.Fish:
In China, a whole steamed fish symbolizes a long and healthy life and oysters and prawns are lucky, too. In Poland, one serves pickled herring at midnight; in Italy, dried salt cod stars in a variety of holiday dishes; and in Germany, you simply can’t celebrate the day without noshing on carp, which often appears in a stew. Germans take it one step further, though — many tuck a few carp scales into their wallets afterward to keep from running out of money in the following year.
4.Grapes:
In Spain, New Year’s Eve means one thing: a whole lot of grapes. At midnight, everyone from grandmothers to teenagers starts popping the fruit into their mouths one-by-one, in time with the local clock tower’s chimes. The saying goes that if you manage to swallow all twelve before the last stroke of midnight, you can count on a prosperous year. Today, the custom is also going strong in Portugal, Cuba, Venezuela and a handful of other countries.
5.Greens:
The leaves of greens are thought to resemble folded money and supposedly portend a rise in economic fortune. In Germany, sauerkraut (pickled cabbage) is a New Year’s must; in Denmark, it’s kale sweetened with cinnamon and sugar, and in this country, sautéed collard greens are an integral part of a New Year’s meal. In Iran and other countries that celebrate the Persian New Year, fresh herbs, which represent fruitfulness in the coming year, find their way into rice dishes and oven-baked omelets.
6.Legumes:
Some believe you can increase your chances of getting rich by feasting on beans, peas and lentils over the holiday. Their small, round shape is reminiscent of coins; plus, legumes swell when they’re cooked, which symbolizes growing wealth. One of the most famous of such New Year’s dishes, which is eaten widely in the South, is hoppin’ john, a soup made of black-eyed peas and rice. In northern Italy, it’s customary to eat green lentils and pork sausage just after midnight, and in Brazil, the first meal of the new year is often lentil soup.
7.Pork:
The high fat content in pork signifies wealth and prosperity; plus, pigs push their snouts forward when rooting for food, which represents progress. (In contrast, turkeys and chickens scratch backward for their food. For that reason, and the superstition that happiness will fly away with the birds’ feathers, many people avoid poultry for the New Year.) Suckling pig is a favorite at New Year’s meals in Russia, Austria, Hungary and Portugal; in Germany, you’ll find roasted pork and sausages, and in Sweden, pork trotters.
Source: babble
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