Everything is fine New Year’sbetween fireworks and greetings, steaming dishes of lentils with cotechino or zampone. It’s not just a question of taste: it’s a small ritual that promises money and prosperity throughout the year. The round and flat shape of lentils is reminiscent of ancient coins and popular belief has it that the more you eat them, the more wealth you will gain. A tradition born in the fields and in peasant folklorewhich today is widespread throughout Italy, despite being particularly heartfelt in the Center and the South.
Lentils on New Year’s Eve as a symbol of prosperity and wealth
Lentils on New Year’s Eve are symbol of abundance and wealth for centuries, given their round and flattened shape which resembles coins. Already the ancient Romansduring the Saturnalia dedicated to Saturn, god of agriculture, they exchanged legumes as a lucky charm: seeds that “multiply” in the fertile land and bring growth and well-being. In the Middle Agesfor the farmers lentils became the “treasure” hidden in the groundhumble but precious food. Today they are accompanied by cotechino or zampone: the pig, which rummages in the ground with its snout, is symbol of progress and abundance.
Some variations add dried figs for extra sweetness and luck. Similar traditions also exist abroad, but in Italy lentils remain the “money holder” par excellence.
When should you eat lucky lentils?
The right time to enjoy them is just after midnightin the early hours of the new year, when the family is together and energy is high. There is no need to count them: the important thing is abundance, with heaping plates which, in some areas, they are left on the table until dawn to “satiate” prosperity. Tender and fragrant, cooked with onion, bay leaves and a drop of wine, lentils shouldn’t be missing: grandmothers swear by it, anyone who skips them risks being left broke!
