The promise of living a long wealthy life has been around forever. However, wealth and old age is not a blessing unless it is adorned with grace and generosity.
There are certain foods that are considered a must on the menu for New Year’s Eve, according to cultures in different Continents.
Some signify good fortune and are lucky to eat on New Year’s Eve, full of symbolism and perhaps superstition.
For example, as I was growing up, my parents practiced a ritual of eating grapes 🍇 which I understand is a European cultural tradition.
In Asia, where my better half hails from, the luck meal is consuming noodles 🍜 which represent good fortunes.
Ladies first, so we begin with the noodles. In China, it is customary to eat noodles for good luck. Noodles are long, and their length is thought to symbolize a long life and, lots of luck. In China, during the Chinese New Year also known as the Lunar New Year, which this time around falls on January 25, 2020, people inhale so-called longevity noodles and I found out that It is not only fine but advisable to slurp them.
Last but not least, we return to the grapes. As the tradition goes, trues believers eat 12 grapes at midnight, one for each month of the year.
This began in Spain around 1900 when a grape grower had a bumper crop and was creative about giving away the surplus. But the story is fuzzy and may lead to sour grapes.
Regardless, stuffing a dozen grapes into one’s mouth is a tradition that has spread throughout many Latin American countries, including Cuba. As a young man, I would eat my 12 grapes as fast as possible, while being careful not to choke on the seeds.
There are apparently other customs, but these are the two, which we practice in our household to wish everyone a Happy News Year 2020.