CAPODANNO – New Year’s Eve Traditions and Superstitions
In the two weeks between December 24 (Feast of the Seven Fishes) and January 6 (Epiphany), Italians find themselves at the holiday table six times for six different celebrations! There are various traditions and specialty ingredients featured depending on the region, but food is always the main event.
Second only to the Christmas feast, il Cenone di Capodanno or New Year’s Eve “Big Dinner” is the most important gathering of friends and family filled with traditions and superstitions that enrich the holiday, marking the beginning of the new year. In Italy, a traditional New Year’s Eve meal is all about symbolizing abundance, wealth and good luck. There are specific foods that no Italian would fail to eat or behaviors they would fail to exhibit to bring in the New Year.
This week’s menu will highlight ingredients you must eat to insure a prosperous and healthy new year. Lentils, pork, grapes and raisins are all included in this country style Tuscan dinner.
Menu
WillaKenzie Estate, Pinot Noir, 2018
WillaKenzie's new estate-focused blend, the 2016 Estate Pinot Noir is pale ruby-purple in color with a lovely spicy nose of red licorice, dried rose petals and potpourri over a core of bright red fruits—raspberry, strawberry, rhubarb and red cherry with cinnamon stick accents. Light to medium-bodied, it features bright red fruits framed with oodles of savory/spicy notes in the mouth. It has firm, grainy tannins and wonderful juicy acidity, finishing long with spicy layers.
Rating: 92+ Robert Parker
Chef's Travel Notes
In the two weeks between December 24 (Feast of the Seven Fishes) and January 6 (Epiphany), Italians find themselves at the holiday table six times for six different celebrations! There are various traditions and specialty ingredients featured depending on the region, but food is always the main event.
Second only to the Christmas feast, il Cenone di Capodanno or New Year’s Eve “Big Dinner” is the most important gathering of friends and family filled with traditions and superstitions that enrich the holiday, marking the beginning of the new year. In Italy, a traditional New Year’s Eve meal is all about symbolizing abundance, wealth and good luck. There are specific foods that no Italian would fail to eat or behaviors they would fail to exhibit to bring in the New Year.
Lenticchie / Lentils take center stage. They are believed to bring good luck and prosperity to those who eat them on New Year’s Eve. Their round shape, reminiscent of gold coins, represents the money one will earn in the coming year. So, the more you eat the better.
Maiale / Pork is another mainstay of the “Big Dinner”. The pig symbolizes abundance and since it is always moving forward, it represents progress. It “roots forward”, shoveling its snout into the future, unlike a chicken that scratches backwards. Inversely, it is bad luck to eat fowl for New Year’s. Cotecchino and Zampone are large, fatty sausages that are traditionally eaten with lentils and mashed potatoes.
Uva / Grapes - According to tradition, having grapes at the table demonstrates that all seated there are wise and frugal spenders. It is said to take much will power to conserve grapes from the harvest until New Year’s Eve, indicating great discipline. Raisins also are consumed as symbols of good luck.
Mutande Rosse - Wearing red underwear is a must. It represents love and fertility, but for the ritual to take full effect, they must be thrown away the next day. This tradition dates back to the time of the ancient Romans when, for New Year’s Eve, they wore something red to represent power, health and fertility.
Another superstition claims that whatever you do on New Year’s Eve, you are going to do for the whole year. It refers to a certain intimate act (!), but has been expanded to include one’s state of health as well. “Ammalato a Capodanno, ammalato tutto l’anno” (Sick on New Year’s Eve, sick all year long). Remember to leave the house with money in your pocket on the 1st. If you leave the house with money on the first day of the year, you will always have something to spend.
Italians take the adage “out with the old” quite literally, particularly in the South, where they let go of past unhappiness to prepare for the future by throwing old things out the window. Pedestrians beware – they throw out old pots and pans, old clothes, appliances and even furniture.
Another tradition is to light the Yule Log on the last day of the year to ward off evil spirits. It is also seen as a gesture of invitation to the Virgin Mary to come and warm newborn Jesus close to the fire. Afterwards, according to tradition, the ashes are strewn to protect the house from harm. Another way to scare off bad omens in the coming year is to smash glassware, plates and pottery and set off fireworks as well as light huge bonfires. It would appear that the spirits don’t like fire or loud noises.
I have taken a bit of culinary license this week in preparing a menu with the most noteworthy ingredients for a prosperous and healthy new year. Lentils, pork, grapes and raisins are all included in this country style Tuscan dinner.
The wine this week is a bit of a departure in that it is not Italian, though I believe it pairs beautifully with our menu. WillaKenzie Pinot Noir 2016 from Oregon’s Willamette Valley is light to medium bodied with pale ruby-purple color. It features bright red fruits with spicy notes and juicy acidity, perfect with our roasted sausage and grapes.
Though you will never hear an Italian say “Buon Anno”, “Felice Anno Nuovo” or Happy New Year before 12:01 am on January 1st (it’s bad luck, of course), I wish to extend my most heartfelt thanks for your support this year and look forward to continuing this Italian culinary journey with you in 2023.
Felice Anno Nuovo!
Christianne