New Year’s Food Traditions From Around the World

Published on December 23rd, 2022
Updated on January 8th, 2025

TAKE A BITE OUT OF THE WORLD’S MOST INTERESTING NEW YEAR’S FOOD TRADITIONS

Three, two, one…there are countless ways to usher in the New Year. We’ve gathered up some of the most interesting food traditions and traditional New Year’s Eve food from around the world. From breaking bread in Armenia to breaking dishes in Denmark to popping bottles in the United States, New Year’s Eve is anything but an ordinary night.

Counting down the New Year may look different around the world, but one thing that unites is food love. Cue the confetti and Champagne because it’s time to party like it’s 2024!

Armenia: Breaking Bread

Families make and break a specially made gata (a sweet flatbread) on New Year’s Eve. Tucked inside the bread is a coin or walnut and the recipient of the lucky slice is believed to have the most luck in the new year. 

Shop Goldbelly’s extensive collection of sweet breads.

China: Wrapping Dumplings

On Chinese New Year’s Eve (which is in January or February, depending on the lunar calendar), families gather together to wrap dumplings. The dumplings are wrapped into the shape of ancient Chinese silver and gold ingots, which symbolize wealth. 

Some families add a gold coin inside a dumpling, and the person who gets this special dumpling is believed to have good luck in the coming year. At the stroke of midnight, families eat dumplings and launch fireworks, a tradition traced to the legend of Nian, a ferocious monster that was afraid of the color red and loud noises. It is believed the noisy fireworks scared the monster. 

Get ready-made dumplings like Nom Wah‘s dumplings and Jing Fong‘s dim sum shipped straight to your door!

Read More: What Are Dumplings? Everything to Know

Denmark: Smashing Dishes

Instead of celebrating with fireworks, Danes prefer to smash plates in the doorways of their dearest friends and family. They also jump on furniture and then hop off at the stroke of midnight during a tradition known as hoppe ind i det nye år. 

Get ready by stocking up on restaurant merchandise like mugs and kitchenware.

Japan: Slurping Soba

Usher in the new year with a bowl of toshikoshi soba, super-long buckwheat soba noodles, which symbolize longevity. 

Stock up and slurp noodles from America’s top Japanese restaurants like AFURI and Menya Jiro Ramen.

Mexico: Wrapping Tamales

In Mexico, families host tamaladas (tamale making parties) and get together to wrap tamales, bundles of corn masa (a dough made of maize, or corn) and stuffed with seasoned meat, pork, cheese, beans, veggies, or sweet fillings like coconut, raisins, and pineapple and steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf.

Get stuffed with tamales from Texas and beyond made fresh by Fat Mama’s Tamales, Texas Tamale Company, and Tucson Tamale.

Read More: Christmas Tamales Traditions: Explained

Russia: Eating & Drinking

Father Frost, bearing gifts, pays a visit to children while adults indulge in culinary delights like pelmeni (dumplings) with sour cream, caviar, and vodka. 

Check out Goldbelly’s caviar collection, including Regiis Ova Caviar by Chef Thomas Keller and Browne Trading Company.

Read More: What is Caviar

Scotland: First Foot

Revelers pay close attention to starting off on the right food in the New Year. It is believed that whomever is the “first foot” through the door is indicative of the luck that awaits. Goal: it should be a dark-haired male bearing treats like shortbread and whisky (we can’t think of a better way to start the new year!). 

Ship Shortbread Society‘s Sugar Cookie Shortbread and Kessler Baking Studio‘s Traditional Shortbread Cookies.

Spain: Gobbling Grapes

When the clock strikes 12, it’s time to gobble down one-dozen grapes, each one symbolizing a month of the coming year. Celebrants time the tradition, eating one grape at each toll of the church bell at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, a celebration that is broadcast live on television. 

Stock up on fresh seasonal fruits from Melissa’s Produce, which includes four pounds of seasonal, hard-to-find grapes.

Turkey: Smashing Pomegranates

As the clock strikes midnight, revelers place pomegranates in their doorways, which are smashed at the stroke of midnight. It is believed that the number of seeds that spew out correlates to the amount of luck one can expect in the new year. 

Lucky you — Melissa’s Produce is shipping the Season’s Best Pomegranate Gift Box nationwide on Goldbelly!

United States: Popping Bottles

Whether you head out to a live concert, attend a local party like the Idaho Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho that features the flight and descent of the #GlowTato or watch a 600-pound electric MoonPie drop during MoonPie Over Mobile in Alabama, or stay home to tune in to watch the iconic 12-foot, 11,875-pound Waterford crystal ball drop in New York’s Times Square, pop some Champagne and toast to another new year. 

Shop drinks and drink kits on Goldbelly and pair them with Caroline’s Cakes‘ Pink Champagne Cake — the perfect way to pop into the new year!

Read More: Traditional Christmas Foods Across America

No matter how you celebrate on December 31, get everything you need for the tastiest New Year’s Eve bash ever. Countdown to the New Year with memorable Top Chef Meal kits, New Year’s Eve dinners, New Year’s Eve desserts, and the best mail order booze-infused desserts. Don’t forget our party kits too. Happy New Year, Food Explorers!