New Year, new start – everyone fantasizes about the possibilities ahead. Here are a few ways to enhance the chances for prosperity with a little good luck taken from traditions around the world:
FOOD
All cultures celebrate the New Year with food – however, you must be careful what you ingest – some food brings good luck, while others can open the door to misfortune. In Mexico, Portugal, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru, revelers eat a grape as each of the twelve chimes ring while making a wish with each. Peruvians eat 13 – an extra to ensure good luck. In Germany, jam-filled doughnuts with and without liquor fillings are eaten along with a tiny marzipan pig for more good luck.
Green veggies, in particular, cabbage, collards, kale, and chard are representative of currency, therefore indicative of financial gain. Allegedly, the more you eat, the more money you’ll have in the coming year.
Other money foods include lentils and their cousin, black-eyed peas, recognized in many cultures as a source of good luck.
Pork symbolizes progress in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Austria, and United States. Pigs made of marzipan are also part of the tradition.
Certain fish are said to produce New Year’s blessings, specifically, carp, cod, herring, roe, shrimp and sardines.
Noodles, for Asians and Italians, are said to bring long life. Pomegranates are associated with abundance and fertility in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries.
BAD LUCK FOODS
Be sure to heed this list – at least during New Year’s meals – or fate may turn against you. Setbacks are associated with lobster, mirroring their movement. Chickens scratch backwards, so eating one could cause regret or dwelling in the past. Some advice steering clear of all winged fowl since it could mean good luck “flying away”.
COLORS
RED is one of the most fortuitous colors, practiced in Mexico, Spain, and Venezuela.
Wearing and decorating with RED encourages overall improvement in love and life; YELLOW brings blessings in work and general happiness, while GREEN improves finances. WHITE works for health issues. Wearing WHITE on the beach in Brazil is said to bring good fortune into the New Year.
COINS
Bread is used to hide coins and charms; if you find the coin/charm, luck will find you. In Venezuela, you must carry a bill of high value when toasting. Holding a gold or silver coin as the clock strikes midnight is said to increase the chances of prosperity.
NUMBERS
In Estonia, people eat 7, 9, or 12 times on New Year’s Eve as these are believed to be the luckiest numbers.
FORTUNE TELLING & OMENS
Pouring molten lead into cold water is practiced in Germany. The shapes formed by the lead reveal the fortunes.
If a tall, dark, and handsome man crosses the threshold, expect good luck. If a red-headed woman enters first, the year ahead is sure to be stressful.
In Ireland, revelers bang the door and walls with bread to chase away bad luck and bring good spirits.
No matter where you are or where you’re from, traditions abound. Follow a few and see if your year improves in unexpected ways. Sending good luck, fortune, and blessings – Happy New Year!
