By Leah Banks
As those across the nation prepared to ring in the new year, countless Southern traditions required inclusion of two or three food pairings to usher in prosperity in 2024, including black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread.
For those raised in Southern households, the pairing of these foods is seen as a powerful tradition of welcoming financial prosperity and good fortune as folks enter the new year, but there is more to this tradition than meets the eye… and the stomach.
According to food historian and scholar Adrian Miller, black-eyed peas are symbolic of coins, while collard greens symbolize paper money. Cornbread is symbolic of gold.
“Some say you’ll have the best of luck if you eat exactly 365 black eyed peas, one for each day of the year,” Miller said.
According to food researcher Alexandra Foster, the origins of this tradition are unclear, but a common belief is that the tradition dates to the Civil War.
“While there are varying origin stories, both have ties to African American history and culture,” Foster said. “One version says that during the Civil War, Union Army soldiers in General Sherman’s troop raided the Confederate Army’s food stash, but left behind black-eyed peas, viewing them as food for livestock.
“When the Confederate Army had to make do with what remained, they were lucky to have the black-eyed peas to eat during the harsh winter,” she continued, “thus it became a symbol of luck and abundance.”
Foster asserted that while this is one of the more common origin stories, there are others who believe in a much more celebratory meaning.
“Others argue it originated with enslaved people who ate black-eyed peas in celebration on Jan. 1, 1863, when the Emancipation Proclamation that abolished slavery was passed,” Foster said. “Indeed, historically, black-eyed peas were seen as a throwaway food for enslaved people and livestock.
“The crop was brought by enslaved Africans in the 1600s as they were transported to the Americas,” she concluded. “West Africans have long considered black-eyed peas a good luck charm that warded off evil spirits, and they are often served on holidays and birthdays.”
While there are numerous ways to prepare black-eyed peas for this occasion, the common method allowing the beans to soak overnight, then placing a ham bone into the beans as they cook for flavor.
