Happy New Year

Heres wishing you all a wonderful and eventful 2007 .

Do you know that almost all countries have special and lucky foods which if eaten in the first few days of the new yr bring wealth, luck or success in the new yr.Here are some of those foods and the stories behind them.

Japan

Food:New year foods that are believed to be particularly auspicious are soba noodles which are especially long noodles that should be sucked up and eaten without breaking them to ensure long life, and mochi rice, which is a rice that is more sticky than ordinary rice and is pressed into cakes called omochi -- then it's either broiled or eaten in soup called Ozoni

story :large omochi cakes are first offered to the gods, then cut into pieces and eaten by the family to bring the opportunity for luck and good health to every New Year's meal.

Greece

Food: Vasilopita (a cake baked with a coin inside)

Story: the Greek tradition of eating Vasilopita originated from the famously high taxes that the Ottoman Empire imposed on the Greek people during the long Ottoman reign.It is believed that a Bishop of Greece, through some miracle, managed to recover a large portion of the Greek people's riches from the Ottoman's grasp. When he attempted to return the riches to their respective owners fighting among the Greek people broke out -- no one could agree on who had owned what!

The second miracle of the story unveils itself here: Saint Basil asked the women to bake a large cake with the valuables inside. When he sliced the cake, the valuables miraculously found their way back to their rightful owners! Today, a cake is baked in honor of this miracle and one coin is baked inside of it. The person who bites into his piece of cake and finds the coin will be blessed with good luck in the coming New Year.

Italy

Food: cotechino con lenticchie-pork sausage served over lentils

Story:: This New Year food is eaten because of the presence of fatty rich pork sausage and lentils in it.Cotechino sausage is a symbol of abundance because they are rich in fat;while lentils symbolize money (being both green and coin shaped).This New Year food promises a double-packs of luck!

Spain

A magnificently large harvest only happens every so often, and when it does, the year that the harvest blossomed is celebrated. At the turn of the century, Spain experienced a gigantic grape harvest. The harvest was so grandiose that the year is marked as a time of great luck. Every year since, Spanish people have brought in the New Year by eating 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight. At each strike of the Plaza del Sol clock (which is broadcast to the entire country much like the United States broadcasts the Time's Square clock), another grape is eaten in celebration of lucky years past, and in hope of a lucky year to come.
(http://www.123newyear.com)

Do you have any New yr stories and lucky foods you know of ?Let us know how we can bring on the luck and prosperity this yr:-)