Beginnings and regeneration are celebrated at the beginning of every year, and for many of us, it's a fresh start. We start a new diet, join a new gym, start practising yoga, and vow to stick with these resolutions in order to find the longevity, health, and prosperity we are looking for in life. There are several good-luck meals to eat on New Year's Eve that are thought to bring good fortunes in the upcoming year if you want to start the new year off well. However, if you want to start out right, there are also some foods you should stay away from. Check out this list of superstitious, unlucky meals w
hen you're ready to break open the Champagne so you can avoid them at all costs and start the new year with the most luck and prosperity.
Chicken
On New Year's Eve, avoid eating chicken or any other kind of feathery animal if you don't want your good fortune to take a flight. According to the Victoria Advocate, the superstition holds that because winged birds like chickens and turkeys scratch in the ground in search of food, if you eat them at the beginning of the year, you'll probably spend the following 12 months searching in the same place for food, fortune, and money. Anything with wings is unlucky to eat on New Year's Eve because it could represent your happiness leaving you.
Avoid White
There are several colourful foods that are lucky on New Year's, such as collard greens, whose colours, alternately, green and gold, denote richness and prosperity. An abundance of luck, success, and money will be yours in the coming year if you give, show, or eat oranges and tangerines in China. Avoid white foods like tofu, white potatoes, egg whites, rice, and bread unless it's served as a round cake when putting the luckiest foods on your New Year's plate. White is associated with death, grief, and ill luck in Chinese culture, which is where the superstition surrounding white meals originates, according to How Stuff Works. Chinese mourners also dress in white, which is why the colour is associated with death.
Short Noodles
Long soba noodles have been a popular New Year's Eve treat in Japan since the 1700s because it is thought that they will bring good fortune, longevity, and health at the beginning of a new year or month. Noodles are a main ingredient in many Chinese and Japanese meals, including ramen, chow mein, and udon noodle soup, which are eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, avoid eating long noodles that have been chopped in half or short since in most Asian cultures, short noodles are a sign of misfortune. In actuality, a short or broken noodle represents a condensed life. Another misconception about long and short noodles is that they should not be chopped with chopsticks, teeth, or any other eating instrument when eating ramen or udon. The long noodles must be consumed in their whole for good fortune and longevity (via spot).
Hollow Bread
Even while it might not just occur on New Year's, it is thought to be a very bad omen to cut into a fresh loaf of artisanal bread and discover a massive, gaping hole. And it's not simply that it's nearly hard to make a sandwich with bread that's full of holes. Air pockets in bread are regarded as a sign of a coffin and a warning of approaching death, either your own or that of a loved one, according to ABC News. Whew. Even just hearing that should convince you to avoid carbs in the coming year.
According to the language, site Learn German, it's normal to leave some food on your plate on New Year's Eve in the country of biergartens and schnitzel. (Although the precise sum is not given.) The leftover plate is expected to remain out past midnight and bring food abundance in the coming year. Additionally, according to Quad Cities Daily, this custom might not just be a means to ensure a little good fortune in the coming year, but that eating all of your food on New Year's Eve might potentially cast a spell of bad luck. So perhaps after your celebrations are over, just leave a couple of hors d'oeuvres on your plate.
Although some of these beliefs may follow numerous traditions, you are free to follow your own preferences.