My family has a long tradition of eating black eyed peas and pork on New Year's Day. I remember asking once why we eat these things on January 1st each year. My grandmother explained that "The more black eyes peas you eat, the more money you'll get in the new year." But none of my family could explain the origins of the tradition. Years later I'm still curious. I think I'll employ some modern technology to shed light on the topic. [goes online]
According to Wikipeadia, the "good luck" traditions of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day aren't new. They are recorded in the Babylonian Talmud which was compiled in ~500 CE. Furthurmore, the Babylonian Rabbi Abaye [d. 339 CE] said, "Now that you have established that good-luck symbols avail, you should make it a habit to see bottle gourd, black-eyed peas, leeks, beets or spinach, and dates on your table on the New Year."
The wiki entry also explains why my northern friends look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about black-eyed peas. It says they are traditionally eaten on New Year's Day in the South and in some other parts of the U.S. In some areas, they are served as a starchy side dish, cooked with or without sidemeat, hog jowls, bacon, ham bones, fatback or another pork product.
This regionalization of the tradition might have it's roots in U.S. Civil War. (But doesn't everything in the South?) Union troops in Sherman's March would typically strip the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock and destroy whatever they couldn't carry away. At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and corn suitable only for animal fodder, and as a result didn't steal or destroy these humble foods. Many Southerners survived as a result of this mistake. Lucky indeed!
And so I'm left wondering if I should pickup some black eyed peas at Kroger tomorrow? I mean, who am I to argue with Babylonian tradition?
Does your family have any New Years Day traditions? Do you think I'm crazy and making this all up? Leave a comment!
According to Wikipeadia, the "good luck" traditions of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day aren't new. They are recorded in the Babylonian Talmud which was compiled in ~500 CE. Furthurmore, the Babylonian Rabbi Abaye [d. 339 CE] said, "Now that you have established that good-luck symbols avail, you should make it a habit to see bottle gourd, black-eyed peas, leeks, beets or spinach, and dates on your table on the New Year."
The wiki entry also explains why my northern friends look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about black-eyed peas. It says they are traditionally eaten on New Year's Day in the South and in some other parts of the U.S. In some areas, they are served as a starchy side dish, cooked with or without sidemeat, hog jowls, bacon, ham bones, fatback or another pork product.
This regionalization of the tradition might have it's roots in U.S. Civil War. (But doesn't everything in the South?) Union troops in Sherman's March would typically strip the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock and destroy whatever they couldn't carry away. At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and corn suitable only for animal fodder, and as a result didn't steal or destroy these humble foods. Many Southerners survived as a result of this mistake. Lucky indeed!
And so I'm left wondering if I should pickup some black eyed peas at Kroger tomorrow? I mean, who am I to argue with Babylonian tradition?
Does your family have any New Years Day traditions? Do you think I'm crazy and making this all up? Leave a comment!
