Field of Daisies

Black-eyed Peas and Ham

In the more southern states we have a tradition of eating black-eyed peas and ham on New Year's Day. I did a little research into the origin of this tradition, and this is what I found:

One possible origin of "eating Black-eyed peas on New Years day started during the Civil War. The Northern soldiers raided the South's food supplies one New Year's Eve night and took all the food except for the dried black-eyed peas and the salted pork. On New Years day, all that the southern soldiers had to eat were the peas and pork to keep them alive, so it is concidered good luck to eat black-eyed peas on New Years because of this event. "

I don't know the validity of this explanation, but it certainly makes sense to me.

So for those of you who choose to partake...Bon appetite!