Traditions of New Year’s Day Dinner
by Judy Smith, Our Mississippi Home
Traditions and customs are such a way of life – engrained in our DNA, especially in the South. And with so many traditions that we follow almost religiously, we rarely question their background or meaning.
One of those traditions is: “Eat poor on New Year’s and eat fat the rest of the year.”
The black-eyed peas, the cabbage, the pork. You’ve probably had it all on New Year’s Day, but have you ever wondered why?
There are several theories about culinary traditions on New Year’s that date back to the days of the Civil War. During the dead of winter, peas were the only food that Confederate troops could find to help feed their families, so they felt more than lucky when they had peas and salt pork to eat. Hence, black-eyed peas were deemed a symbol of good luck.
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This article first appeared on Our Mississippi Home.
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