Did you know that in Spain, it's considered good luck to eat one grape with each stroke of the clock at midnight? Or that in Greece, a pomegranate is smashed on the floor when the clock strikes 12?
Around the world, certain foods are thought to bring good fortune when consumed (or in the case of the poor pomegranate, destroyed) on New Year's Eve.
Here are five lucky foods to eat on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day for your most prosperous year yet.
1. Black-eyed peas
In the South, eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is said to invite good fortune. Keep things simple by whipping up a slow cooked batch of Hoppin' John Black Eyed Peas. While you're at it, pick up a bag of lentils, which in Italy symbolize wealth.
2. Ring-shaped foods
These foods should be eaten to signify the year coming full circle. Enjoy ring shaped foods like doughnuts or bagels before you swear off carbs — or at least for the first two weeks of 2017.
3. Pork
Many people think pork is the luckiest of foods to eat on New Year's Day — whether because of its fat or because of the way pigs "root forward."
4. Whole fish
A whole fish is a symbol of prosperity. This one might be a bit much to tackle (Get it? Tackle!)
5. Corned beef and cabbage
Corned beef and cabbage on New Year's is associated with the fortune you should hope for in the coming year. Beef or pork is the meat of choice because unlike chickens these animals do not scratch in the dirt for their food. It's said that if you eat chicken on New Year's Day you are setting your destiny for the coming year to scratch in the dirt for your survival, which sounds pretty awful if you ask us. Cabbage is light green, like paper money. And who couldn't use more of that?
