INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

With New Year's upon us, here's a look at some of the good luck
rituals from around the world.  They are believed to bring good
fortune and prosperity in the coming year.  AUSTRIA The suckling pig is
the symbol for good luck for the new  year. It's served on a table
decorated with tiny edible pigs. Dessert  often consists of green
peppermint ice cream in the shape of a  four-leaf clover.  ENGLAND The
British place their fortunes for the coming year in the  hands of their
first guest.  They believe the first visitor of each  year should be
male and bearing gifts.  Traditional gifts are coal  for the fire, a
loaf for the table and a drink for the master.  For  good luck, the
guest should enter through the front door and leave  through the back.
Guests who are empty-handed or unwanted are not  allowed to enter
first.  WALES At the first toll of midnight, the back door is opened
and then  shut to release the old year and lock out all of its bad
luck. Then  at the twelfth stroke of the clock, the front door is
opened and the  New Year is welcomed with all of its luck.  HAITI In
Haiti, New Year's Day is a sign of the year to come.  Haitians wear new
clothing and exchange gifts in the hope that it  will bode well for the
new year.  SICILY An old Sicilian tradition says good luck will come to
those  who eat lasagna on New Year's Day, but woe if you dine on
macaroni,  for any other noodle will bring bad luck.  SPAIN In Spain,
when the clock strikes midnight, the Spanish eat 12  grapes, one with
every toll, to bring good luck for the 12 months  ahead.  GREECE A
special New Year's bread is baked with a coin buried in the  dough. The
first slice is for the Christ child, the second for the  father of the
household and the third slice is for the house.  If the  third slice
holds the coin, spring will come early that year.  JAPAN The Japanese
decorate their homes in tribute to lucky gods. One  tradition,
kadomatsu, consists of a pine branch symbolizing  longevity, a bamboo
stalk symbolizing prosperity, and a plum blossom  showing nobility.
PERU The Peruvian New Year's custom is a spin on the Spanish  tradition
of eating 12 grapes at the turn of the year.  But in Peru,  a 13th
grape must be eaten to assure good luck.  CHINA For the Chinese New
Year, every front door is adorned with a  fresh coat of red paint, red
being a symbol of good luck and  happiness. Although the whole family
prepares a feast for the New  Year, all knives are put away for 24
hours to keep anyone from  cutting themselves, which is thought to cut
the family's good luck  for the next year.  UNITED STATES The kiss
shared at the stroke of midnight in the United  States is derived from
masked balls that have been common throughout  history.  As tradition
has it, the masks symbolize evil spirits from  the old year and the
kiss is the purification into the new year.  NORWAY Norwegians make
rice pudding at New Year's and hide one whole  almond within.
Guaranteed wealth goes to the person whose serving  holds the lucky
almond.  The Recipe Page and The Gourmet Connection CAPCO Marketing
Posted to  Bakery-Shoppe Digest V1 #482 by "Pollywog"
<hlewis@cci-29palms.com>  on Dec 30, 1997

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