What Is The Difference Between Italian Food And Southern American Culture

Traditional New Years Day food choices in the Italian culture does not consist of many options but what they do eat are told to provide good comings for the new year. On the other hand, traditional New Years Day food choices in the Southern American culture consist of only a couple less options that is also said to provide good comings for the new year. When comparing the food choices made between the Italian and Southern American cultures on New Years Day it is clear that each culture has their own choices with the exception of two being the same. Each food choice has a specific meaning behind why they eat them specifically on New Years Day.

There are different meanings behind each food chosen to eat by these two cultures. The Italians

The first one that is most interesting to me is fish and pickled vegetables. In the Italian culture it is said to bring good fortunes if you eat fish. Given this, the Italians offer various selections of fish and seafood appetizers to start the New Years Day meal. To go along with the fish, they have a dish called reinforcement salad, this contains a variety of pickled vegetables. It pairs along with the fish, for example, Francine said, “The name may originate from the assistance it gives to the substance and flavor of the rest of the meal” (Segan). On the other hand, in Southern American culture, they steer away from seafood. The reason for this is specifically appointed towards lobster, as Diana said, “Some believe that lobster could cause bad luck because they can swim in a backwards direction” (Rattray). People in this culture interpret this as eating lobster can cause you to have setbacks in the new year because they can swim backwards, again, symbolizing the direction of the past. Some other food options that the Italians eat are dried fruits and nuts, and a single grape. In vice versa, some other foods that the Southern Americans eat consist of greens and cornbread. There are no superstitions behind why these two cultures do not eat these same foods, they are just chosen specifically between the two to enjoy. Both cultures have these extraordinary, interesting choices of food and they have always been this way for as long as people can