In Japan, soba is the noodle traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve for longevity.
The dish is called toshikoshi soba, literally associated with passing from one year to the next. It is eaten on Ōmisoka, Japan’s New Year’s Eve, which falls on December 31. The noodles are commonly served in a hot broth with ingredients such as scallions, fish cake, tempura or fried tofu, though recipes vary by region and household.
One interpretation links soba’s long strands with a long life. Another connects the noodles’ easy-to-break texture with leaving behind the hardships and troubles of the old year. The buckwheat plant’s ability to withstand difficult weather has also given soba associations with strength and resilience.
The custom is generally traced to the Edo period, from 1603 to 1867. Soba is not the same as somen, ramen or udon: soba is traditionally made chiefly from buckwheat, while udon is thick wheat noodle and ramen is a distinct wheat-noodle dish.