Centrale dish at the New Year's table of different peoples: symbolism, evolution and cultural code Introduction: Gastronomy as the text of the holiday The New Year's feast is not just a meal, but a complex ritual where the central dish plays the role of a key symbol, coding collective hopes, historical memory, and ideas of well-being. Ethnographers and anthropologists of food (such as Sydney Mintz, the author of the work "Sweetness and Power") consider festive food as a "text" that can be read, revealing the values of society. The central dish is usually associated with ideas of abundance, health, luck, and continuity, and its choice is determined by geography, religion, and social history. Europe: from pig to grapes The historical New Year's table in Western, Central, and Northern Europe was closely connected to the agrarian cycle and the winter slaughtering of livestock. Germany, Austria, Scandinavia: The traditional central dish for a long time was roasted pork or pork hock. The pig symbolized prosperity and progress (it was believed that the animal, unlike the chicken, which scratches backward, always digs the ground forward). In Saxony, marzipan pig figurines are still given. Interesting fact: In medieval Germany, there was a custom of the "Neujahrsschrei" (New Year's scream): the first person to see a pig in the new year had to scream about it to attract luck. Spain, Portugal: Here the ritual has shifted from the main dish to dessert-fruits. At the sound of the chimes, Spaniards eat 12 grapes (las doce uvas de la suerte), one for each bell, making a wish for each month of the year. The tradition originated at the beginning of the XX century as a witty move by winemakers from Alicante to sell excess harvest and quickly became a national one. In Portugal, raisins serve the same purpose. Italy: In the south of the country (Naples, Campania), it is mandatory to have a dish of chickpeas with the «dzampone» sausage. The round shape of the chickpeas reminds of ... Read more