good luck pigs?

in my family, the new years tradition is Pork and Sauer Kraut- for good luck. I am half German 1/2 Welsh and now that I have visited germany I know where this tradition comes from. Another interesting holiday tradition in Germany and Austria appears to be the Good Luck Pig!

I saw these little guys everywhere. So, I needed to look up where this tradition comes from... and over on Yahoo Answers I found out about pigs and much more.

"In Germany the pig to symbolize good luck because it is entirely edible - from snout to foot. And we have those little pink pigs made out of marzipan with a penny in its snout...for good luck.

Chocolate plays its part at the New Year, symbolizing the rich and sweet hopes that the giver has for the recipient's year.

Nuts mark the turning of the year and often are given as the start of any new enterprise. The French give jars of cooked chestnuts in sweet syrup on New Year's Day.

Bread should be well-rounded - the way you want your year to be. "No long loaves, because they have ends where good luck might escape. The same goes for pasta: round, not straight.''

Greens and lentils represent money or coins and are thought to bring riches. Italians eat lentils with sausages, symbolizing money and the purse to hold it in. In much of the Orient, fish is eaten for prosperity, noodles for long life and rice for fertility.

Cabbage, even sauerkraut, is supposed to help cure `the morning after the night before' making it an ancient remedy for another famous New Year's Day tradition - hangovers."

So where ever you and what ever your tradition-- Happy New Year and best of luck for a fantastic 2008. Thanks for reading the Fancy Glass, I hope to learn more, post more, and especially cook more in coming new year.