In Italy's New Year's Eve food traditions, lentils symbolize wealth and prosperity.
Their round, coin-like shape is commonly linked with money, so eating lentils at the turn of the year is associated with hopes for financial good fortune. They are often served with cotechino, a richly seasoned Italian pork sausage, or with zampone, a stuffed pig's trotter.
The meal is part of a broader European pattern in which foods are chosen for their shape, abundance, or cultural symbolism. Lentils are practical as well as symbolic: they are inexpensive, nutritious, and widely used in Italian cooking.
The custom does not mean every Italian household follows exactly the same menu. Regional cuisines differ, and the prosperity symbolism is strongest in the traditional New Year's meal rather than being a universal rule about lentils throughout the year.