Lentils are traditionally eaten in Italy for prosperity on New Year's Eve.
Their association with wealth comes from their small, round shape, which resembles coins. As lentils cook, they swell, making them a fitting symbol of increasing abundance. In Italy they are commonly served around the New Year, often with cotechino or zampone, two traditional pork products associated with the holiday meal.
The custom is part of a broader European pattern in which New Year's foods are chosen for symbolic meanings such as luck, wealth, health, or fertility. The exact menu differs by region and household, but lentils are one of the most widely recognized Italian New Year foods.
Eating lentils does not represent a formal national ceremony, and not every Italian family follows the practice in exactly the same way. The important traditional link is between lentils and monetary prosperity. Their symbolism is culinary and folkloric, not a claim that the food itself guarantees financial success.