• Some traditional Christmas Eve meals are meatless. Italians eat fish soup called zuppa di pesce. The Irish eat oyster stew.


• In the southern part of the U.S., black-eyed peas are eaten on New Year's Day for good luck.


• Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency.


• In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.


• Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle.


• It's believed that leaving Christmas cookies for Santa originated during the Great Depression as a way to keep children's spirits up during a hard time.


• Cookies first burst onto the culinary scene around the seventh century, when bakers used small portions of cake batter to test the heat of the oven. The resulting treats were dubbed koekje, which is Dutch for "little cake."


• Hershey's wrapped their Kisses in colored foil (other than silver) for the first time in 1962. Hershey's sold red, green, and silver Kisses during the Christmas season that year in addition to its year-round silver-wrapped ones.


• Candy canes began as straight white sticks of sugar candy used to decorate the Christmas trees. It wasn't until about the 20th century that candy canes acquired their red stripes.


• Did you know the pilgrims imbibed eggnog at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607? In England, the word "nog" means a type of "strong ale," and originally, the English created the thick and creamy egg concoction with ale and served it warm.


• Eggnog wasn't always just a holiday drink. Many old cookbooks offer recipes for eggnog as a strengthening mixture for the ill or frail.


• The Christmas turkey first appeared on English tables in the 16th century, but didn't immediately replace the traditional fare of goose, beef or boar's head in the rich households.


• Twenty-two million turkeys are consumed each year at Christmas, compared to 45 million at Thanksgiving.


• On average, each American eats more than 17 pounds of turkey annually.

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