Wednesday Wonders – New Year’s Food AND Fireworks

Here discover Wednesday Wonders – Food and Fireworks. Happy New Year to all of you! This post for my Wonder Lesch blog will be exploring New Year’s celebrations and traditions around the world.

Food and fireworks – Wonders

Romulus created the Roman calendar, 10 months and 304 days. After time the monthly calendar system created by Romulus and adjusted by King Pompilius (who added the months of January and February to the Roman calendar) was no longer in sync with the sun and moon. Julius Caesar, with the help of mathematicians and astronomers, created the Julian calendar and named January 1st as New Year’s day. Janus was the god of new beginnings and a fitting start to each New Year.

Food – Wonders

Throughout the world many New Year’s celebrations of food and fireworks begin on the evening of December 31st and continue through January 1st.

In Japan, families will eat toshikoshi or buckwheat soba noodles at midnight on New Year’s Eve to say goodbye to the year past and hello to the year coming. The noodles symbolize longevity and prosperity. To create your own midnight meal visit www.justonecookbook.com or click here.

In Spain and Mexico, a tradition is to eat grapes. At the stroke of midnight they eat one grape per chime of the clock bell. 12 chimes equals 12 wishes, which equals a very Happy New Year.

In Poland and parts of Scandinavia people eat pickled herring at the stroke of midnight to bring a year of prosperity including increased trade and friendships. The silver lining brings abundance to the person eating the fish.

In Germany after the firework show Germans like to eat “Pfannkuchens”, a traditional donut treat filled with jam, and sometime liquor. Created and served throughout the world known as “Berliners”. A great way to begin the New Year, sweet treats for a sweet year.

In Greece, a pomegranate is hung above the front door for the 12 days of Christmas to symbolize fertility and good luck. On New Year’s Eve the members of the house gather outside and the pomegranate is thrown against the front door of the house. The more seeds that are on the ground the luckier the New Year will be.

An American food tradition for New Year’s Day is eating black-eyed peas (representing coins), collard greens (representing money) and cornbread (representing gold). A delicious dish that is said to bring good luck throughout the year to all that eat it. Click here for a delicious slow cooker recipe to start your year full of food luck http://www.thespruceeats.com.

Fireworks – Wonders

Now the fireworks from around the world! Do you have a place where you watch the festivities? Here are several places that are renowned for their firework displays.

Wednesday wonders – New Year’s food and fireworks

So many yummy things to eat and amazing sites to see. What is your New Year’s Eve/Day tradition? Share them with me in the comments. I learned a lot putting this post together, and I love learning. Below are a couple items to help keep the learning going.

May your New Year be full of friends, family and fun. Until next time, take care WonderLesch.