New Year"s food traditions

My maternal grandmother ate  herring for good luck on New Year's Eve as I was growing up.

She got the idea from her mother, who had been born in Germany. where this was  tradition.   She would fish one or two of the silvery, slimy things out of the jar she brought every year, and swallow them down at midnight. "Icky Grandma!"  We would say "How can you eat that? It smells funny!"  We would then throw out the remaining fish around the fourth of July, which, I guess,  was also part of the tradition.

I got to thinking about New Year's food traditions and a quick google search indicated that the bison chip dip my family now eats is not one of the foods people eat traditionally.

Some that are include grapes.  In Spain people eat exactly twelve grapes at midnight. (a sour grape can indicate a bad month). People apparently eat all twelve grapes within the first minute.

I  wonder what happens if somebody has a coughing fit at say, grape eight, and can't finish.  Do they get really nervous when August rolls around?

Cooked greens are another big one in many cultures.  The greens represent money.  Hopping John is  common  in the south where some people need to eat one pea for each day of the year.  What if you cook up a huge pot for the family and are nine peas short?

In Turkey, people eat Pomegranates, Long Noodles are eaten in China and other Asian countries and Pork is popular in many countries.  The list goes on.

What traditions does your family follow?  Is it important to keep up these traditions, or to make your own?  Maybe the important part is just remembering those who introduced us to them in the first place.  I think next year I'm going to buy a jar of herring in honor of my grandmother. 

This is what we eat on New Year's Eve.  Filet, with mushroom sauce,  mashed potatoes and green beans. I don't know if it brings us luck and prosperity, but it tastes really good!