It's also suggested you should not eat certain things on New Year's Eve, in order to prevent bad luck for the year ahead, such as lobster and chicken. Since lobsters can move backwards, eating them before the stroke of midnight may cause setbacks. For chickens, the idea is similar as they can scratch backwards.
For New Year's Eve, nutritious lentils are traditionally eaten after midnight, along with pork and sausages.
Chicken is a homophone for ji (吉, meaning 'good luck' and 'prosperity'). That is one thing that makes it such a welcome dish at reunion dinners. Chicken is usually served whole — head and feet included — to symbolize 'unity' and 'wholeness', while also signifying 'a good beginning and end' to the year.
Also, some traditions say that poultry should be avoided on New Year's Day. Since poultry scratches for its food, the idea that the eater will be scratching for food throughout the New Year. No one wants to be scratching for food for 365 days. Lastly, some people say that beef should be avoided on New Year's Day.
Serving an entire chicken (head and feet included) celebrates wholeness and prosperity in the new year. The Chinese word for chicken, jī, is a homophone for good luck and great wealth and also symbolizes family unity.
But, in some parts of the country and the world, so are black-eyed peas, lentils, grapes and pickled herring. Hailing from the Low Country of South Carolina to Japanese noodle houses to Pennsylvania Dutch homes, these are seven lucky dishes traditionally eaten around the New Year to bring good fortune.
Chicken. A whole chicken is usually served on to represent family togetherness. As chicken is high in protein, some believe that chicken during the new year also represents rebirth. Like the fish, the chicken should be served in its entirety, with the head and feet intact.
Avoid Winged Fowl
If you don't want your luck to fly away in the new year, it's best to avoid any animal that has wings and scratches in the dirt, like turkey or chicken. These birds scratch backward, which can imply dwelling in the past or—even worse—the need to scrape by for your living.
There are also some foods that you should not eat on New Year's Eve, in order to prevent bad luck for the year ahead—especially lobster and chicken. Since lobsters can move backwards, eating them before the stroke of midnight may cause setbacks. For chickens, the idea is similar as they can scratch backwards.
Pork. Pork for progress! Pigs root around with their snouts moving in a forward motion, which is why many cultures around the world eat pork on New Year's Day to symbolize progress for the coming year.
Originating in the 19th century, the New Year's meal typically consists of black eyed peas, cabbage, and cornbread. Each of the foods has a symbolic meaning for the new year. The black eyed peas have a different meaning for some people.
The Twelve Grapes (Sp. las doce uvas de la suerte, "the twelve grapes of luck") is a Spanish tradition that consists of eating a grape with each of the twelve clock bell strikes at midnight of December 31 to welcome the New Year.
In case you haven't heard, it's tradition to eat pork and kraut on New Year's Eve at midnight, which technically means New Year's Day. Among the many traditions surrounding the coming of the New Year, this one is both tasty and easy to complete, unlike some of those tough resolutions.
According to folklore, if you wash clothes on New Year's Day, you'll be “washing for the dead” or washing a loved one away -- meaning someone in your household will die in the coming year. Get your laundry washed, dried, folded and put away by New Year's Eve.
Rice symbolizes prosperity. "They swell — increase in size — and are numerous,” Miller says. In the U.S., Hoppin' John, a traditional Southern dish of red peas and rice, is traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. It is believed to bring good luck into the new year.
On January 1, millions will be serving up the traditional New Year's menu of black-eyed peas, ham, greens, and cornbread. It is believed eating these foods on New Year's Day will bring good luck and prosperity for the remainder of the year.
According to Hindu Mythology, it is a sin to kill an animal during their breeding season. Shravan or monsoon is the month of breeding for most of the animals, which makes another religious reason to abstain from non-veg and eggs.
Hindus do not eat non vegetarian food like chicken, meat or fish or any other Non Vegs on particular days, not limited but including: Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays of every week, many more auspicious days like Ekadasi, Sankranti, Dussera, Sankashti Chaturthi, Angarki Chaturthi, Ekadashi, Gudi Padwa, Akshaya Tritiya ...
Cases of avian flu prompted China and South Korea to impose bans on US poultry imports earlier this year. Last year, the two countries accounted for about US$428.5 million in export sales of US poultry meat and products, according to USDA data.
Eating a whole egg in any kind of preparation is an important part of welcoming the new year and celebrating the Spring Festival—the rounding of the cruel curve of winter in Chinese culture. Like everything else around this cultural holiday, it's dripping with more symbolism than sauce.
Eating pork on New Year's Day is a tradition rooted in Germany and Eastern Europe, and brought to the United States. Collard greens are also believed to bring good luck in the New Year. Their green color symbolizes money and prosperity.