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New Year’s Eve is associated with celebrations of all kinds, including fancy dinners with champagne and caviar.
However, many New Year’s Eve traditions are actually centered around simple, delicious foods that are said to bring good luck for the coming New Year — and are more affordable for most of us.
Here are three New Year’s greetings food traditions from all over the world that people swear will bring them luck.
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Will any of these be on your party menu this year?
Black-eyed peas
In the southern part of the United States, black peas are a staple of New Year’s cuisine for many Americans.
Black-eyed peas are said to “bring in the New Year with hope, prosperity and good fortune,” Bobby Ford, owner of Bobby Q’s Jus Like Mama’s, told Fox News Digital.
Bobby Q’s Jus Like Mama’s is a food for the soul restaurant on Long Island.
Eating black peas on New Year’s Eve has been a tradition since the Civil War. The pea is “considered a symbol of spiritual abundance”. (Bobby Ford)
“This pea is also considered a symbol of spiritual abundance – and with its nutritional value, as a way of promoting health and well-being for the next year,” he said.
Black-eyed peas, originally from West Africa, were brought to the United States by enslaved Africans, Ford said.
Legend has it that women hid peas in their hair.
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“This act ensured that they could grow familiar foods in a new country, preserving part of their culture and food,” he said.
Welcome 2025 with one of these food traditions from around the world. (iStock)
The tradition of eating black peas on New Year’s Eve began during the Civil War, Ford said.
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“Over time, it became a New Year’s custom, symbolizing hope and the promise of future prosperity,” he said.
12 grapes
The tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight on New Year’s Day began in Spain in the 19th century. It has expanded to other Spanish-speaking countries, according to the Food Republic website.
In recent years, videos about the custom have gone viral on TikTok, and a video shared in 2023 by Kroger, a grocery chain, has had more than 6 million views.
The tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight started in Spain. (iStock)
“Did you know that eating 12 grapes on New Year brings you good luck?” Kroger’s TikTok asked.
The TikTok video goes on to state that “as the clock strikes midnight, you eat them one by one with each chime. If you manage to finish them before the chime stops, you’ll be lucky all year.”
Some cultures attach different meanings to the consumption of grapes, noted Food Republic.
“My family made fun of me for my religion, but look who has a ring now.”
In Peru, there is a person who eats 12 grapes under the table said that he is lucky in love for the coming year, it is on the same page.
On TikTok posted on December 22, 2022, user @helengmorales posted a video of herself eating grapes under the table at midnight, followed by pictures of her with her fiance.
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“My family made fun of me for my religion, but look who has a ring now,” she wrote.
Toshikoshi room
Throughout Asia, it is common to eat noodles on birthdays and other holidays as a way of expressing hope for a long life.
In Japan, it comes in the form of a dish Toshikoshi roomwhich is eaten on New Year’s Eve.
The name translates to “noodles that pass one year,” says Just One Cookbook, a Japanese website.
Toshikoshi soba or “year noodles” are eaten in Japan on New Year’s Eve. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
As in “many cultures, the New Year in Japan begins with a fresh, clean slate,” said Namiko Chen, the website’s author.
“That’s the essence of toshikoshi soba — hot buckwheat noodles soup that is healthy and easy to make, but full of symbolism.”
The noodles are made from buckwheat, which is considered a symbol of strength, resilience and luck.
Toshikoshi soba “is usually served in its simplest form — buckwheat soba noodles in a hot dashi broth garnished only with finely chopped scallions,” she said. Many people, however, choose to add additional ingredients for flavor.
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The Japanese have been eating soba noodles on New Year’s Eve for nearly seven centuries, Chen said, with the tradition really taking off around the 17th century.
The noodles are made from buckwheat, which is considered a symbol of strength, resilience and luck.
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“With the hope of luck in every bowl, it’s easy to imagine the custom being quickly adopted by family of familiesabsorbing the symbolism of the soba noodles,” she said.
