New Year’s Lucky Foods

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Lucky Food for New Year: New Year’s Traditions

We all want to start the year right, so you might ask What three foods are you supposed to eat on New Year’s Day? The new year is rapidly approaching, and the end of the year is an excellent time to get finances in order, get together with loved ones, clear clutter, set upcoming goals, and write a gratitude list. It’s also a time to prepare for the holidays. It’s never too early to start working on your New Year’s Lucky Foods menus and New Year’s Eve recipes. Imagine getting all your shopping done early for the holiday season, so when the clock strikes midnight, you will be ready for good luck. Perhaps you want to know What NOT to eat on New Year’s Day then we have you covered. The practice of eating specific foods for luck during New Year’s celebrations has roots that stretch back thousands of years into human history. The symbolism behind these foods often tells a fascinating story of human ingenuity and hope.

For thousands of years, cultures worldwide have believed that the first foods we eat in the New Year shape our fortune for the months ahead. From beans in the American South to twelve rounds fruits in the Philippines, each tradition carries a promise of prosperity, health, and happiness. At Atlas Cruises and Tours, our global travels have revealed that while these customs differ across continents, they all share one beautiful truth: gathering around a table of these foods brings families together and keeps traditions alive. Whether you’re seeking wealth (round fruits), longevity (long noodles), or abundance (leafy greens), these time-tested traditions offer both meaning and flavor for your New Year’s celebration.

As a family, we enjoy many food traditions paring a good luck food menu together and love the way these traditions tie into our passion for travel. An interesting and essential part of getting to know another culture is by tasting their local foods and experiencing new customs firsthand, so every year, we at Atlas Cruises and Tours proudly share this post on New Year’s lucky foods traditions and superstitions from around the world. Creating your own lucky food tradition doesn’t mean abandoning your favorite holiday dishes. Many families now take a fusion approach, combining traditional foods that are considered lucky with modern recipes. Some spread their celebrations throughout New Year’s Day, starting with midnight snacks for immediate luck, followed by a purposeful brunch, and ending with an evening feast that brings the whole family together. This approach allows for both the honoring of traditions and the creation of new ones.

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New Years Eve Food Traditions – Lucky Foods 2025:

Before you start planning your feast, it’s worth noting that timing can be just as important as the foods themselves. While some traditions call for eating these lucky foods exactly at midnight, others emphasize having them as your first meal of the year. Many cultures believe that the way you welcome the New Year sets the tone for the months ahead, so taking time to thoughtfully prepare and serve these dishes can make the experience even more meaningful.

Grapes – bring good luck

Eat twelve grapes, one for each chime of a clock, right after midnight to bring luck in the New Year. This tradition is said to have started in 1909 by grape growers who wanted to cut down on a surplus of grapes. The grape ritual is said to guarantee sweetness and fortune in the year ahead. Each grape follows the month – so your first grape represents January, 2nd February, etc. If you happen to get a sour grape along the way, it is said to predict that the month will be a challenging one in 2025. In Spain, Mexico, Portugal, and Cuba, celebrants make a special wish for each grape. In Spain, the grape ritual is often followed by parties that last into the next morning and end with breakfast. In fact, several variations of the grape tradition are found in many other Spanish-speaking countries around the world. Make sure to have your 12 grapes counted out and ready on New Year’s Eve. Grapes are also significant in lunar new year celebrations for their symbolism of wealth and joy.

Pro Tip: To make the grape tradition more manageable, consider freezing the grapes beforehand. This not only makes them easier to eat quickly but also turns them into a refreshing treat perfect for midnight celebrations. Just remember to remove the seeds if using seeded grapes!

Round Fruits : Good Luck Food

Round fruits, such as oranges & apples, are considered New Year’s Lucky foods in many countries because they are believed to symbolize coins & bring a prosperous New Year. Round fruits have held a special place in New Year’s traditions across cultures for millennia, their circular shape and vibrant colors carrying deep symbolic meaning. Like coins of ancient treasuries, these fruits are believed to attract wealth and prosperity in the year ahead. From the golden hues of citrus to the rich purples of figs.

Chinese & Asian Cultures: Mandarin oranges and tangerines are the most popular lucky fruits in China and Asian countries because of their sun-kissed golden color, symbolizing prosperity, wealth, and good luck. In feng shui, it is believed that oranges and citrus fruits are strategically placed in homes and businesses to ward off negative energy and bad luck. For maximum benefit, feng shui practitioners recommend placing nine oranges (representing the number of completeness) in your home’s wealth corner during New Year celebrations.
Feng Shui Fruit Elements: Going a bit further into feng shui, there are lucky fruits you can eat that they believe will help balance the elements and organs in your body. 🔥 Fire Elements: Cranberries, cherries, strawberries, and red apples are believed to help with heart health. 💧 Water Elements: Blueberries can help with kidney problems. 🌿 Wood Elements: Lemons & limes can increase liver chi.
In Vietnam, red is considered a lucky color, so watermelon is served because its red flesh represents good fortune and prosperity.
In the Mediterranean regions, many feel pomegranates are a symbol of fertility and abundance due to all of the seeds. Specifically, in Greece, they smash a pomegranate at the entrance of the house right after midnight. The further the seeds spread, the better the luck for the family in the new year.
In ancient Italy, figs were said to be a symbol of fertility. If you want to create a “lucky” centerpiece for your party, put a bowl of pomegranate and citrus fruits on your dining room table. Figs symbolize fertility and new beginnings.
In the Philippines, the “12 Fruits Tradition” involves eating 12 fruits on New Year’s Day to bring luck and prosperity—one fruit representing each month of the New Year. In the Philippines, the cherished “Media Noche” tradition centers around the ritual of preparing exactly 12 different round fruits for New Year’s Eve, known locally as “Doce Frutas.” Each fruit symbolizes prosperity for one month of the coming year, making the selection process particularly meaningful. The traditional feast typically includes easy-to-eat grapes, oranges symbolizing gold and wealth, apples for health, watermelon for abundance, and pomelo representing family unity. While some fruits like pineapple aren’t perfectly round, they’re included for their symbolic “eyes” that represent coins and prosperity. Filipino families display these fruits prominently on their Media Noche (midnight feast) table, often arranged in a circular pattern for added luck.
Avocado (yes, it’s a fruit!) Its green color is said to represent prosperity and fortune.

Ideas on how to incorporate these ideas into your menu: Citrus-infused water for midnight toasts, Pomegranate as a salad topping, Fresh fruit platters arranged in lucky number patterns and Dried fruit combinations for lasting prosperity. When creating your lucky fruit centerpiece, consider arranging fruits in ascending order of size to symbolize growing prosperity. Combine: Pomegranates (abundance), Golden citrus (wealth), Purple figs (wisdom), Red apples (happiness), Green avocados (growth)

Beans to bring good luck

Why eat black-eyed peas or other beans on New Year’s? Eating beans on New Year’s is considered good luck. The theory is that beans symbolize prosperity and growth because they “swell” as you cook them. In the Southern United States, the New Year’s Eve food tradition of eating beans shows a sign of humility and, therefore, invites good fortune. Black-eyed peas are the most popular beans eaten on New Year’s, followed by green lentils. The lentils round shape is said to represent coins, and green represents the color of money. Here are some of the examples of bean dishes eaten around the world as New Year’s lucky foods.

In Italy, people often eat green lentils with sausages (cotechino con lenticchie).
In Puerto Rico, they will often make rice and beans (Arroz con gandules).
In Brazil, they have lentil beans on top of white rice, rather than prepared into the rice as it’s done in Puerto Rico.
In Hungary, they prepare a lentil stew made with pork jowl, onions, and spices, including Hungarian paprika, vinegar, and mustard, served with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Japan takes a sweeter approach with kuromame (sweet black beans) as a side dish for health and prosperity.
As for black-eyed peas, you will find them all over the world on New Year’s. They are associated with a mystical power to bring good luck. Black-eyed peas, cornbread, and collard greens are traditional Southern dishes in the U.S. The tradition finds perhaps its most famous expression in the American South through Hoppin’ John, a dish combining black-eyed peas with rice, whose origins trace back to West African heritage. In Portugal, these beans are served with boiled cod and potatoes. In Egypt, they prepare a bean stew out of these beans called Lobya, which is served with Egyptian rice. In Vietnam, black-eyed peas are used to make sweet rice and bean pudding. In Colombia, they make breakfast fritters out of the them called bunuelos de frijol de cabecita negro. Black-eyed peas are a staple in many Greek foods. For New Year’s, they are slow-cooked with olive oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and wild greens. In many Middle Eastern countries, including Syria, Jordan & Lebanon, they also prepare black-eyed peas (called lubiya) with onions and tomatoes and is usually served as a side dish. In Guayana, they make black-eyed peas “cook-up” rice made with a coconut broth, fried fish, and plantains.

According to tradition, cook-up rice which should be the first thing eaten in the New Year for good luck. Beyond their lucky symbolism, these legumes pack a nutritional punch with protein, fiber, iron, potassium, and zinc. For maximum fortune, tradition suggests cooking your beans on New Years Eve for consumption the next day, and keeping leftovers is considered especially lucky, promising prosperity throughout the year. These humble legumes have become such a universal symbol of good fortune that many cultures insist they should be the first food eaten in the New Year.

Greens : good luck foods

Leafy greens resemble paper money, so they are a symbol or wealth and good fortune. The color green symbolizes luck. Cooked collard, turnip greens, mustard greens, chard, spinach, cabbage, arugula, dandelion greens, and kale are all thought to “show you the money” in the new year. Germans eat lots of sauerkraut. The round shape is lucky, and the green for them represents money. The Danish like their kale sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Many people in the U.S. cook collard greens with ham or pork. Make sure to pile it on. The more greens you eat, the more fortune you will have in the year ahead. Besides, eating lots of greens means that you are also detoxing your body for the new year with all of the added fiber and live a long life. Greens also provide beneficial vitamins and antioxidants, which help reduce stress and inflammation.

Pork : good luck foods

If you eat meat, pick pork over chicken or beef on New Year’s Day because pigs dig with their snout, representing forward movement or progress, while chickens and turkeys scratch backward, and cows stand still (we all want to move forward, not backward or stay in the same place in the New Year!) Ribs, bacon, ham, and sausage are all easy to incorporate into your New Year’s lucky foods menu. If you are the cook in the house, consider putting pork or ham in your black-eyed peas or lentils for added flavor. Many cultures, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Ireland, eat pork not only because of the belief of moving forward but because fatty meat is also symbolic of “fattening” their wallets. Germans feel that pigs are so lucky that they give marzipan pigs, known as Glücksschwein (lucky pigs) as gifts to bring good luck in the year ahead.

Whole Fish : good luck foods

If you want to stay away from meat, fish is a good choice as a New Year’s Eve Lucky food since most fish swim forward, representing moving forward in the coming year, and their scales are believed to symbolize silver. Another superstition is that since many fish swim in schools and lay lots of eggs at one time, it is a sign of abundance. Stay away from bottom dwellers like catfish, just in case, because that could mean something will hold you down in the New Year (just a thought). Pickled herring, salted cod, sardines, and carp are popular dishes in European and Scandinavian countries. In Germany, some people put fish scales in their wallets and keep them there all year, as it’s believed to bring about good luck. The Japanese also have fish to bring prosperity and wealth, as well as shrimp for a long life and herring roe for fertility. In some countries, the fish is served whole (head and tail), symbolizing the end of one year and the beginning of another. No lobster or crab as they walk sideways and backwards. If you want seafood other than fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, squid, and oysters are all good choices as New Year’s Lucky foods.

Long Noodles – symbolize longevity, long life, good luck foods

Eat noodles symbolize longevity. In China and Asian Countries people eat the New Year’s Eve meal always includes noodles. Here is the catch: you must eat at least one long noodle in one piece (without chewing) for a good long life, so you will need a big pot to boil them whole and practice your slurping skills. Japan has the same belief and serves long toshikoshi soba noodles on New Year’s Day. Traditionally, they eat them at midnight when the clock strikes midnight and the longer the noodles, the better. A common dish prepared in Asia for New Year’s using noodles is stir-fry.

Grains for Good Luck

Rice, quinoa, risotto, barley, oats and other starches symbolize abundance since they swell when cooked. Like noodles, in some cultures people eat rice right after midnight to attract lots of good luck in the year ahead. In Indian mythology, rice is used in religious ceremonies, as it’s believed that rice grains can soak up evil energy and any bad omens. Japanese rice cakes (mochi) made from pounded, steamed rice and filled with sweet bean paste are a popular appetizer. In China, they serve Tangyuan, which is sweet rice balls. In Korea, they serve bibimbap, meaning mixed rice in English, is served in a hot bowl with sautéed vegetables, chili, and soybean paste. Many Latin countries serve rice with beans for New Year’s. Rice pudding is served in Sweden and Finland as a lucky dessert. In the U.S., Hoppin’ John and Jambalaya are often served. You can of course substitute the rice in these dishes with quinoa or barley.

Root Vegetables: good luck foods

Through yoga and holistic healing, many of us are familiar with the various chakra points in the body. The root chakra is said to be the energy center that keeps us calm, grounded and roots us to our core values and beliefs. To find balance in all aspects of your life and be open to good luck and good energy in the New Year, begin with this chakra. If the root chakra is unbalanced, you may find yourself giving into old habits, patterns, and mindsets that hold you back. People that are grounded tend to be more open, realistic, organized, and practical. According to Ayurvedic Medicine, the roots of a plant are its anchor and the foundation of life, so the theory is that when you eat these vegetables, you take in that deeply rooted and grounded energy. Incorporate root vegetables and begin the year with a calming and grounding effect on the mind and body. Root chakra foods are potatoes, carrots, radishes, onions, turnips, squash, parsnip, sweet potato, beets, garlic, ginger, and so on.

You can also incorporate spices that have a warming effect on the body, such as cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, mustard seed, turmeric, cloves, and black pepper. Of course, we recommend having these foods year-round not just when the clock strikes midnight.

Sweet Treats: good luck foods

Cakes, cookies, pies, creme brulee and donuts are considered as foods that are lucky. St. Basil’s bread, known as vasilopita, plays an important role in Greek New Year’s traditions. The bread is sweet and baked with a coin hidden in it. At midnight, Greek families turn off the lights, and the head of the household slices the cake and shares it among the family. The family member who gets the piece of bread with the coin inside is guaranteed to have good luck in the New Year. France also serves a cake with a coin or small ceramic inside called King’s cake. The cake consists of puff pastry, almond filling and is famous for its colorful frosting. Doughnuts and fritters are popular in Eastern Europe. In Italy, many make struffoli, which is a dozen small doughnut-like balls placed in a full circle, held together by honey and topped with candied fruit and powdered sugar. In Mexico many households make flan. In the Caribbean, spiced rum cake is often on the table. If you don’t feel like baking, you could go with round candy like peanut butter cups, lolly pops Whoppers or Milk Duds they are said to resemble coins.

Round Foods: good luck foods

Round foods are in the shape of a “ring” and represent the year coming “full circle.”

It’s very easy to incorporate round foods into your menu. Crepes, biscuits, pies, bagels, quiche, quesadillas, brie, burgers, fried eggs, meatballs, sushi and pizzas are all options. Of course, for good health foods, you can opt for melon balls, sushi, sliced tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, eggplant, potatoes, and other veggies sliced in circles. Get creative and use cookie cutters to make round shapes out of certain foods such as polenta, cheeses, and fruits.

Cornbread: good luck foods

Said to symbolize gold, cornbread is a popular New Year’s Southern tradition. Some people add extra corn kernels, emblematic of golden nuggets to ensure extra luck. Due to its golden color, some like to use a drizzle of honey or honey butter as a topping on their cornbread to add even more good luck. We found some creative cornbread skillet recipes online that included black-eyed peas & smoked sausage, offering several New Year’s lucky foods in one serving or making cornbread pancakes for breakfast.

Leftover cornbread can also be used in stuffing, as breading to make nuggets, croutons, casseroles, or cornbread pudding. As the Southern saying goes, “peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold.”

Foods for Abundance and Wealth

When it comes to New Year’s celebrations, foods that symbolize abundance and wealth are a must-have on the table. These dishes are believed to bring good fortune and prosperity in the year ahead, making them an essential part of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day traditions.

Champagne

Although a drink and not a food item, we can’t leave out the champagne. Toast the New Year with champagne or prosecco. In some cultures, they suggest that, right after midnight, you take 3 short hops without spilling your drink and then pour the champagne behind you to leave all of the negative in the past. If your champagne lands on someone else – no problem, as that is supposed to mean good luck for them. Perhaps a bottle of cheap champagne for throwing over your shoulder and a nice bottle for the toast? If champagne is not your thing, you can also have Prosecco or Moscato. In Scotland, it’s a tradition to toast the New year with a shot of whisky.

The beauty of New Year’s food traditions lies not just in their supposed luck-bringing properties but in their ability to bring people together, connect us with our heritage, and open our eyes to the wonderful diversity of human celebration. As we prepare for another New Year, we invite you to explore these traditions, whether through travel or by incorporating them into your own celebrations. After all, good fortune often finds us when we open our hearts – and our tables – to new experiences and connections.

Now, if you are ready to put together your menu of New Year’s Lucky Foods 2025 this holiday season, just click on the link below:

Lucky Food Recipes for the New Year

New Years Traditions For Good Luck

We hope you have enjoyed our post on New Year’s Good Luck foods. Atlas has been in business for over 34 years and is an award winning, top travel agency for many cruise lines including, Celebrity Cruises, NCL Cruises, Holland America Cruises, Princess Cruises, Crystal Cruises & Regent Seven Seas, Ama Waterways River Cruises & Avalon River Cruises. What are your favorite New Year’s Food Tradition this holiday season?

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