Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — According to worldwide folklore, what a person eats on the first day of a new year has lasting effects throughout the year, and the specific food one eats will either bring luck or misfortune.

For many in the Knox County area, a “lucky” food is some form of pork, served along with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. That New Year’s meal has its roots in Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, which regards hogs as a sign of prosperity. Cabbage leaves, from which sauerkraut is made, also symbolize wealth, because they represent paper currency, or “greenbacks.”

Lannings Foods is one of the groceries in the area that was making sure to be well stocked with sauerkraut, as well as pork items such as baby back ribs, pork chops and different types of pork roasts. Last week, meat department manager Aaron Berry said business was “booming.”

Customer Lavern Secrest chose a pork roast to serve on New Year’s Day.

“It’s a tradition in our house. I make it sweet for my husband and sour for me,” she said.

Upholding a family German custom that goes back at least three generations, Nancy Wainwright also planned to serve a pork roast or tenderloin with sauerkraut today.

“It’s just something we do,” she said. “We have the pork on New Year’s Day. It’s sort of a tradition to eat poorly on New Year’s Eve and to eat better on New Year’s Day. That way you start the year out better than the last year ended.”

To get ready for the New Year’s wave of pork purchases, Wayne Zollars of Smithhisler Meats said the meat cases were stocked with more pork items than usual; 60 percent pork as opposed to the usual 25 percent. He said the most popular cuts of pork among his customers were the country ribs and boneless pork roast; bagged fresh ’kraut usually went out the door along with the pork.

“I love this time of year,” Zollars said. “I love pork and I love sauerkraut, so I personally like the New Year’s tradition. Ever since I can remember, we would go to grandma and grandpa’s and have pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day.”

Along with the residents of the United States and Germany, people in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Italy and Austria consume pork on New Year’s Day, according to epicurious.com. Pig’s feet are enjoyed in Sweden and miniature pigs made from marzipan are used as table decorations in Austria.

While Germans and many Americans eat cabbage or sauerkraut on New Year’s, collards are the greens of choice in the southern United States. The Danes eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

In the southern United States, it is also traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas on New Year’s Day, because, supposedly, that was the only thing the citizens of Vicksburg, Va., had to eat after they ran out of other foodstuffs while under attack during the Civil War.

Grapes have been considered a lucky food in Spain ever since an exceptionally good harvest at the turn of the 20th century. The Spanish people now bring in the new year by eating 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight. At each strike of the clock, another grape is eaten in celebration of lucky years past, and in hope of a lucky year to come. Epicurious stated the custom spread to Portugal and to former Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Since each grape represents a different month of the year, if, for instance, the third grape is a bit sour, it might mean March will be a rocky month.

Italians traditionally eat a New Year’s dish containing pork and lentils. They also celebrate the new year by throwing old things out of the window to make room for the new and lucky.

In Germany, it is customary to leave a little bit of each food on one’s plate past midnight to guarantee a stocked pantry in the new year.

Some foods should not be eaten at the start of a new year. Epicurious stated that lobster is “a bad idea because they move backwards and could therefore lead to setbacks. Chicken is also discouraged because the bird scratches backward, which could cause regret or dwelling on the past. Another theory warns against eating any winged fowl because good luck could fly away.

Champagne is the universal beverage of choice when toasting the New Year; it is unclear as to why that tradition spread from France to around the world.

In addition to epicurious.com, New Year’s traditions from around the world can be found at 123newyear.com and wilstar.com.