{"id":605,"date":"2015-12-20T10:24:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-20T10:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.parkwayplazaapts.com\/blog\/?p=605"},"modified":"2017-10-13T11:41:51","modified_gmt":"2017-10-13T11:41:51","slug":"new-years-day-food-traditions-and-their-meanings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.parkwayplazaapts.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/20\/new-years-day-food-traditions-and-their-meanings\/","title":{"rendered":"New Year\u2019s Day Food Traditions and their Meanings"},"content":{"rendered":"

$\"\"$ <\/p>\n

Each year my family groans as I pull out the can of Black Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day. But this tradition means that we will have a year of good fortune and good health, why test fate, I ask?<\/p>\n

So each year they eat them and each year (so far) we have had good fortune and good health, but where did these traditions (superstitions) come from and why do we eat certain foods on New Year’s Day?<\/p>\n

Here are a few for you to ponder.<\/p>\n

1) Black Eyed Peas are a Southern tradition and are typically eaten with greens and pork. The peas represent prosperity, the greens symbolize money and the pork represents positive motion. Just FYI, we are going to skip the pork this year (you know that whole health kick thing 2015 brought us) and instead are having Black Eyed Pea Salsa with Kale Chips.<\/p>\n

2) While most New Year’s Day food traditions should be eaten in the New Year, in the Philippines you want to have your table filled with as many dishes so you can eat (like feast) at the stroke of midnight. By doing so you set the standard for luck in the New Year.<\/p>\n

3) The Spanish\/Portuguese eat twelve grapes at midnight to symbolize the twelve months of the New Year. I am wondering if 12 glasses of wine count … probably not.<\/p>\n

4) In Greece if you smash a pomegranate on the floor in front of the door, the number of seeds are foretelling of your prosperity and good fortune for the New Year.<\/p>\n

5) Slurp some Sorba noodles without breaking them for a long and lucky life.<\/p>\n

6) Cook some lentils for New Year’s day. Why? Legumes look like coins and have been eaten for good luck since the Roman times. Our Brazilian and Italian friends include them on their New Year’s Day menu.<\/p>\n

7) Roast or cook a whole fish the New Year’s day. Fish are lucky because their scales resemble coins (prosperity) and they swim forward which symbolizes progress.<\/p>\n

Avoid lobster on New Year’s Eve, it walks backwards and not forward!<\/p>\n

Happy 2016!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"