Italy is the country where the New Year's Eve tradition of eating lentils is associated with prosperity.
Italian New Year meals often include lentils, especially alongside cotechino, a richly seasoned pork sausage, or zampone, stuffed pig's trotter. Lentils are associated with coins because of their small, round shape, so eating them is believed to encourage financial abundance in the coming year.
The meal is typically served around New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, depending on regional and family customs. Pork contributes another prosperity symbol: the pig is associated with abundance and with moving forward because it cannot easily move backward. These meanings are cultural traditions rather than claims about literal financial outcomes.
Italian New Year customs vary widely by region. Food, fireworks, family gatherings, and local religious observances all play a role. Lentils are therefore a widespread symbolic food, not a compulsory national ritual followed identically by every household.