Lentils are traditionally eaten in Italy on New Year's Eve because their coin-like shape symbolizes prosperity.
Italian families commonly serve lentils, often with cotechino or zampone, around the transition into the new year. As lentils swell while cooking, they can also suggest growth and abundance. The dish is therefore connected with hopes for financial well-being and a plentiful year ahead.
Cotechino is a spiced pork sausage, while zampone is a stuffed pig's trotter. Regional recipes and serving times vary, but the combination of lentils and pork is especially associated with New Year meals. Pork can symbolize abundance because pigs root forward and were historically valuable food animals.
The lentil custom is separate from the red-underwear tradition found in parts of Italy, which is associated with luck, love, or protection depending on local interpretation. New Year's Eve foods differ across Italian regions, but lentils remain one of the most recognizable national symbols of prosperity.