Overview
- Lentils remain the signature good‑luck dish at midnight, their coin‑like shape standing for money and steady prosperity.
- Pork dishes such as cotechino and zampone, especially in northern regions, signal concrete abundance and material well‑being.
- Pomegranate, dried fruits and nuts, honeyed sweets and rising doughs like panettone are favored for messages of fertility, longevity, sweetness and growth.
- Customs extend beyond the plate, including wearing red garments for luck and international rites like Spain’s twelve grapes at midnight.
- Traditional cautions advise skipping shellfish that move backward, poultry that could let fortune “fly away,” bitter or insubstantial fare and chipped tableware.