In Italy, New Year's Eve lentils are popularly said to symbolize wealth.
Lentils are commonly served around the New Year, often with cotechino or zampone, two traditional pork products. Their small, round, coin-like shape is associated with money, and the dish is therefore understood as a wish for financial prosperity in the coming year. Some families eat it at midnight, while others serve it as part of New Year's Day lunch.
The custom reflects a widespread pattern in which New Year's foods represent hopes for abundance. Pork can also carry prosperity symbolism because pigs were historically associated with plenty and because pork marks a substantial celebratory meal. Recipes and timing differ across Italian regions.
Lentils are sometimes described as a symbol of luck in general, but the specific traditional association is wealth or money. They are also a nutritious everyday food in Italian cuisine, so their holiday role is symbolic rather than evidence that eating them guarantees financial success.