The New Year is a time for lots of traditions and rituals to usher in good luck, prosperity and happiness for the year ahead. A lot of them, unsurprisingly, have to do with food. Many cultures have strongly held beliefs about increasing the chances of good fortune by eating the correct meals at the start of the year and avoiding the “wrong” ones. From long noodles symbolising longevity to pickled herring representing the sheen of money, here are seven New Year food traditions from around the world.

　　Twelve Grapes, Spain

　　This Spanish tradition consists of eating a grape for each bell of the town clock as it rings out at midnight on December 31 to welcome the New Year. Each grape and clock bell strike represents each of the coming 12 months. The custom began at the turn of the 20th century and was purportedly thought up by grape producers in the southern part of the country with a bumper crop. Since then, the tradition has spread to many Spanish-speaking nations. It is believed that eating the 12 grapes leads to a year of good luck and prosperity. There are two types of places where people gather to eat the grapes: at home with family members after Nochevieja dinner, or in the main squares around the country, with the most famous being the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, where this tradition started.

　　Soba Noodles, Japan

　　In Japanese households, families eat buckwheat soba noodles, or toshikoshi soba, at midnight on New Year’s Eve to bid farewell to the year gone by and welcome the year to come. The tradition dates back to the 17th century, and the long noodles symbolise longevity and prosperity. This custom is intended to let the household let go of the year’s hardship because soba noodles are easily cut while eating.

　　Vasilopita, Greece

　　Vasilopita is a New Year's Day bread, cake or pie in Greece and many other countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans which contains a hidden coin or trinket which gives good luck to the receiver. It is associated with Saint Basil's Day, January 1, in most of Greece, but in some regions, the traditions surrounding a cake or pita with a hidden coin are attached to Epiphany or to Christmas.

　　According to custom, the head of the table first makes the sign of the cross over the cake and then cuts each slice while calling out the name of the intended recipient. The first piece is for Jesus, the second for the Virgin Mary and the third for the house. By the fourth slice, the cake is finally distributed to the people in attendance, with the first one going to the household head and subsequent ones generally distributed on the basis of age. In some families, even the members who aren't present get a piece, as do pets. The prize is typically a coin, either a foil-wrapped one or one sold specially for this purpose. Receiving the coin is thought to bring good luck and may come with an additional, more tangible, gift as well.

　　Cotechino Con Lenticchie, Italy

　　Italians celebrate New Year’s Eve with La Festa di San Silvestro, often commencing with a traditional cotechino con lenticchie, a sausage and lentil stew that is said to bring good luck (the lentils represent money and good fortune) and, in certain households, zampone, a stuffed pig’s trotter. Pork represents the richness of life. The meal ends with chiacchiere—balls of fried dough that are rolled in honey and powdered sugar—and prosecco.

　　Black-Eyed Peas, United States Of America

　　Eating black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year's Day is a long-held tradition in the American South. The custom is so pervasive throughout the Southeast that black-eyed peas appear across a number of recipes, most popularly in different variations of Hoppin' John. This is a dish of pork-flavoured field peas or black-eyed peas (symbolising coins) and rice, frequently served with collards or other cooked greens (as they’re the colour of money) and cornbread (the colour of gold). The dish is said to bring good luck in the new year. Different folklore traces the history and the name of this meal, but the current dish has its roots in African and West Indian traditions and was most likely brought over by slaves to North America.

　　Pickled Herring, Scandinavia And Poland

　　Herring is in abundance in Poland and parts of Scandinavia and because of its silver colouring, many in those nations eat pickled herring at the stroke of midnight to bring a year of prosperity and bounty. Some eat pickled herring in cream sauce, while others have it with onions. A special Polish New Year’s Eve preparation of pickled herring called śledzie marynowane is made by soaking whole salt herrings in water for 24 hours and then layering them in a jar with onions, allspice, sugar and white vinegar. Scandinavians will often include herring in a larger midnight smorgasbord with smoked and pickled fish, pâté, and meatballs.

　　Tamales, Mexico

　　No Mexican New Year’s celebration is complete without a feast of tamales. These delicious corn husk-wrapped treats are filled with savoury or sweet fillings and are a staple of holiday gatherings across Mexico. In many families, groups of women gather together to make hundreds of the little packets to hand out to friends, family and neighbours. On New Year’s, it’s often served with menudo, a tripe soup that is famously good for hangovers.