On New Year’s Day across the South, the savory aromas of black-eyed peas and greens waft from the kitchen, and families heap spoonfuls of the two dishes onto their plates in honor of a longtime tradition. Why do Southerners eat black-eyed peas and greens on New Year’s Day? The belief is that the two dishes represent luck and money and eating them together on Jan. 1 guarantees both in the New Year.
“We always eat black-eyed peas and collards on New Year’s Day,” says Kathy Carter, a McDonough resident and owner of Southern Belle Farms. “My grandkids don’t like it, but we make them eat it anyway! It’s a tradition at my house.”
Like many customs, it’s hard to say how this Southern tradition started, but there are several theories. One suggested origin of the tradition dates back to the Civil War. Union troops, who typically stripped the countryside of all food, crops and livestock, ignored the fields of black-eyed peas, thinking them only suitable for animals—a fortunate theory for the starving Southerners. Another story says that during the Civil War siege of Vicksburg, Miss., residents ran out of food, but discovered they had black-eyed peas. After that, the legume was considered lucky.
Dried black-eyed peas are believed to symbolize coins as the peas greatly expand in volume, symbolizing expanding wealth.
Cooked greens are consumed at New Year’s in many countries for one simple reason—their green leaves look like folded money and symbolize economic fortune. It is widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one’s fortune next year. Any green will do, but Southerners seem to prefer collard greens.
Since the tradition is shared across cultural and ethnic boundaries, it seems likely that black-eyed peas, which keep well when dried, and collards, which are seasonal in the South in December and January, historically made sense for a New Year meal. Both were plentiful, cheap, healthy and tasty when cooked Southern-style.
In the South, black-eyed peas usually are cooked with onions and pork, such as bacon, ham bones or fat back. It is also traditional to eat black-eyed peas in a dish called Hoppin’ John, which is a mixture of black-eyed peas, rice, and bacon or ham hock. Some people throw a dime into the pot believing that whoever winds up with the dime in their serving gets extra good luck for the coming year.
So, when you serve up black-eyed peas and greens on New Year’s Day, you will be honoring a longtime Southern tradition—and hopefully, dishing up a year that’s filled with prosperity!
Original artwork by David Boyd, Jr. To view this and other works, visit davidboydjr.com.