New Year’s Eve is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy long-standing traditions that are said to bring luck, wealth, and prosperity—whether or not you believe in superstitions all year round. While attracting good fortune is important, it’s also fun to know what to avoid so as not to invite bad luck. All of this is meant in a light-hearted, playful spirit. Some of these traditions may seem a bit silly or amusing—perhaps! But they make for entertaining reading and are perfect conversation starters around the New Year’s table. Interestingly, some of the superstitions on this list are not about what you should or shouldn’t eat, but about behaviors recommended—or discouraged—in the kitchen for the coming year.
Avoid Winged Poultry
If you don’t want your luck to fly away in the new year, it’s best to avoid animals with wings that scratch the ground, such as turkey or chicken. These birds scratch backward, which is believed to symbolize being stuck in the past—or worse, struggling to make a living.
Avoid Lobster, Crab, and Other Crustaceans
If you want to avoid major setbacks in the year ahead, skip crab, lobster, and other crustaceans on New Year’s Eve. These creatures move sideways or backward rather than forward, which is thought to symbolize regression.
Don’t worry—you can still enjoy seafood. Simply replace them with fish that swim forward, such as salmon or tuna.
Beware of Hollow Bread
Although it can be hard to avoid, finding a large air pocket when slicing bread is said to be a bad omen, especially on New Year’s Eve. The only exception is round bread, which symbolizes the circle of good fortune. This is meant humorously, so don’t take it too seriously—though it might be the perfect excuse to start a low-carb diet in the new year!
Don’t Eat Bottom-Feeding Fish
Seafood such as shrimp, cod, scallops, halibut, and sea bass are considered bottom feeders, as they feed on leftovers at the bottom of the ocean. If you don’t want to rely on “leftovers” in any aspect of your life in the coming year, it’s best to avoid them.
If you’re craving seafood, you still have options. You can substitute mushrooms, such as vegetarian “scallops” with succotash or mushroom “calamari,” or simply choose another forward-swimming fish like salmon.
Don’t Hand Over a Knife
Giving someone a knife on New Year’s Eve is believed to signal your intention to cut ties with them in the future. It’s also poor kitchen etiquette. Instead, do as chefs do—place the knife down on the counter and let the other person pick it up themselves. This avoids both physical injury and symbolic loss of friendship.
Don’t Leave Kitchen Cabinets Empty
Some believe that starting the new year with an empty fridge or bare kitchen cabinets brings bad luck and scarcity. Avoid this by stocking up on foods you love.
Don’t Clean or Wash
Don’t wash all the dishes, take out the trash, do laundry, or deep-clean the house. According to superstition, doing so may unintentionally wash away good luck and loved ones from your life. Other beliefs say that whatever you do on New Year’s Day is what you’ll be doing for the rest of the year.
Some women happily use this as an excuse to avoid washing dishes—but leave the cleaning for later and enjoy the New Year.
Avoid White Foods
In Chinese traditions, white is considered an unlucky color because it symbolizes death. As a result, white foods are excluded from New Year celebrations. Tofu, eggs, rice, cauliflower, and white cheeses—say goodbye to them for the night.
Instead, fill your New Year’s table with colorful foods. Leafy green vegetables of all kinds are said to bring wealth, while yellow foods (such as cornbread or lemon cream) are believed to symbolize prosperity and happiness. Oranges are also thought to bring good luck and abundance, which is why citrus fruits are popular.
Don’t Finish Your Plate
No matter how hungry you are, they say you shouldn’t finish everything on your plate. Leaving a little food at the end of the night is believed to promise a year full of abundance. So resist the habit of clearing your plate completely and do your future self a favor by saving some leftovers.
Don’t Gift Parsley
It’s unclear why you’d want to do this in the first place, but if you feel like gifting fresh herbs, leave the parsley at home. Bringing it to a party won’t make you stand out—instead, it’s said to bring bad luck.
Don’t Let Chopsticks Stand Upright or Break Long Noodles
Consider yourself lucky if your chopsticks fall to the side while eating ramen or sushi on New Year’s Eve. Standing chopsticks upright in a bowl resembles incense used to honor the dead in China and Japan, which is considered a bad omen.
Additionally, long noodles symbolize longevity, so be careful not to break them while eating.
Don’t Eat Bananas
It turns out bananas are associated with bad luck. Not only is cutting them considered unlucky, but even bringing bananas onto a boat is believed to result in poor fishing—or even the loss of the crew at sea.
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