Why So Many People Eat Cabbage On New Year's Day

Growing up, I remember eating tamales on New Year's Day, but it was mostly because my family made so many during Christmas that we were happily still gobbling them up by the end of the year. My mom said that her mother made menudo on the first day of the year, but she remembers it benefitted her uncles who ate the soup to defeat their hangovers. For the most part, though, people eat specific foods for New Year's because they symbolize things like good fortune, prosperity, and luck; elements they hope will come to fruition in the year to come. One such food that millions enjoy for the New Year is cabbage.

Cabbage is thought to symbolize money because of its green color, so people eat it as a way to attract wealth. Additionally, when cabbage leaves are cooked or boiled, they can fold up like a wad of cash; further cementing the cruciferous veggie as an icon of prosperity. Some also say that long strands of shredded cabbage are symbolic of a long life. Hardcore luck chasers might include a silver coin or a dime in their batch of cooked cabbage. This Appalachian practice has Scotch-Irish roots and serves the belief that whoever is served the portion of cabbage with the coin in it will have good luck all year long.

Fortunately, to achieve such good New Year's luck there's no rule about having to eat cabbage raw right off the core. Many cultures have their own interpretation of a New Year's cabbage recipe. For example, in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania, it's traditional to eat pork and sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) on the first day of the year. Eastern European cabbage rolls are another tasty way to flavor up the green. If you like Japanese food, you'll probably love okonomiyaki, or savory cabbage pancakes drizzled with sriracha mayonnaise. Don't overlook kimchi in order to get your cabbage fix, either. The Korean favorite is wonderful on burgers and in Asian-inspired tacos. You could also put cabbage into dumplings, soups, salads, and coleslaws. Good ol' green cabbage is the best type to use for the latter, as it's affordable and crunchy.

Some cultures substitute cabbage with other leafy greens for New Year's Day meals. In the South, you're more likely to see collards, turnip, or mustard greens instead of cabbage, all of which symbolize prosperity as well. They're often served with black eyed peas and cornbread, two other dishes that supposedly promise wealth for the year. One Southern saying that speaks to the combination of the food trio is, "Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold." As you can see, cabbage is anything but boring. With so many dish options to choose from, why wouldn't you press your luck by enjoying it on New Year's?