New Year’s Day, celebrated on January 1st, marks the beginning of the new year and is a time of renewal, celebration, and often, indulgent feasting. Across the globe, specific foods are consumed on this day, believed to bring luck, prosperity, and good health in the coming year. In many cultures, legumes like lentils or black-eyed peas are popular for their resemblance to coins, symbolising future financial success.

In Spain and some Latin American countries, the tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight represents hopes for each month of the new year. Pork, symbolizing progress and prosperity, is widely consumed in places like the United States and Germany. In Japan, people enjoy ‘Osechi-ryori’, an array of symbolic dishes packed in special boxes called ‘jubako’. New Year’s Day is not just a time for setting resolutions but also a moment to gather with family and friends to share these foods, each laden with cultural significance and the promise of good fortune.