Pomegranate is traditionally displayed or eaten for good luck at New Year in Greece.
Greek New Year's customs connect the pomegranate with fertility, abundance, prosperity, and the promise of a fruitful year. In some households, a pomegranate is taken to church for a blessing and then smashed at the entrance of the home after midnight or on New Year's Day. The scattered seeds symbolize abundance.
The practice is related to the fruit's long history in Greek and Mediterranean mythology. Pomegranates appear prominently in the story of Persephone and were associated in antiquity with life, death, renewal, and fertility.
Greek New Year also includes vasilopita, a cake named for Saint Basil. A hidden coin is baked into it, and the person who finds the coin is traditionally believed to receive good fortune. Pomegranates and vasilopita are separate customs that are sometimes discussed together because both concern New Year's luck.