There is a tradition I grew up with — Latvian, I think (though I wouldn’t be surprised if it exists in other countries too): on New Year’s Eve, the table should hold twelve dishes.
I clearly remember my grandmother telling me that even salt and pepper count. Back then, Latvia was poor. Under Soviet rule, having twelve different dishes was simply not realistic for many families. But people still wanted to keep the meaning of the tradition alive. So they adapted. A pinch of salt. A little dish of pepper. Presence mattered more than abundance.
And I love that part of the story. Because this tradition was never about luxury. It was about marking the turning of the year with care, intention, and a quiet hope that the next twelve months would be kinder.
Our New Year’s table wasn’t perfect or traditional in every sense — but it was full. Full of food, yes, but also of laughter, small negotiations about what “counts,” and stories that travel across generations. This year, we counted carefully — and creatively. Each type of sushi became its own dish. That definitely helped. 🍣
Any New Year’s Eve traditions in your country!?
Ilze
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a day in the life of a latvian mom 
Interesting – I know in Poland they have 12 dishes on Christmas Eve. I was born and grew up in Scotland, and a tradition there is ‘first footing’ where you visit friends and neighbours to welcome in the new year. The first person to enter the house should be male and dark haired, carrying a piece of coal, a piece of cake and whisky. The same bottle of whisky can go from house to house!
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OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! Love it! Thank you for sharing! This is awesome! Why dark-haired ???
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Supposedly so that they can show they are not Vikings!! This is so silly as the Vikings only went to parts of the West Coast of Scotland. Anyway, we used to have fun in Copenhagen as we were always first footed by a dark haired Icelander 🙂
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Very nice tradition, Illze, and a wonderful family gathering! 🙏🏻😍
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Am laughing as I have never counted how many dishes there are on a party ‘cold table’ or smorgasbord in Estonia! Twelve sounds about right . . . and methinks the custom is the same in all the Baltics and Finland and Sweden at least! Naturally there can be more – I remember being absolutely amazed way back having lunch at the Operakellaren restaurant in Stockholm and there being 29 different kinds of cold herring to begin with . . . nope, loved this so much I did not get to the meats and salads 🙂 !
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