Produce plays a big role in their celebrations. Oranges given as gifts represent success in the New Year. Tangerines with stems and leaves attached represent success and happiness in the New Year. Green Onions symbolize cleverness. Bringing lettuce home represents bringing more money home in the New Year.
Red apples are a common gift.
Never green apples, which represent immaturity. Weather, more than anything else, determines what we buy, how much it costs, and how good it is. Most grapes and treefruit grown in the U.S. are grown in California. They just went through their driest December in over 100 years, and despite recent rainstorms, January will most likely be one of the drier months as well. In December and January, growers prune the vines and trees.