How to Eat for Good Luck on New Years Day

New Year's Day is a day when many people in different places have traditions to help welcome the new year. These traditions often revolve around thoughts of bringing hope, peace, prosperity, and wealth in the new year. New year's day traditions also include those that are practiced in hopes of bringing good luck and good fortune in the new year. Eating certain foods are a strong part of this new years day tradition. One such tradition of eating for good luck is particularly strong and popular in the U.S. South. On New Year's Day in the South, many southerners eat a meal of black eyes peas, collard greens, and cornbread. This article will show you why and how you can follow the southern tradition of eating black eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread on new years day in hopes of good luck, wealth, and good fortune in the new year.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• black eyed peas
• collard greens
• cornbread
• sweet tea (iced of course)

1. 
    
   Black Eyed Peas

   The first step for eating to gain good luck and wealth in the New Year is to cook a pot of black eyed peas (cook and season them the way you prefer). Black eyed peas are eaten specifically to bring good luck in the new year.

2. 
    
   Collard Greens

   Another item to prepare for this New Year's Day meal are collard greens. Collard greens are specifically eaten to bring wealth and prosperity in the new year because the leaves look similar to folded money.

3. 
    
   Skillet of Cornbread

   Finally, prepare a skillet of cornbread to accompany the meal of black eyed peas and collard greens. Cornbread is specifically eaten to help bring good fortune in the new year.

4. Once the black eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread are all finished cooking, serve them all warm for a delicious southern meal on New Year's Day to help bring you good luck, wealth and prosperity, and good fortune in the new year. But whether or not those desires actually come true (hopefully they will) you will still have an enjoyable and delicious southern meal on New Year's Day. Enjoy!

Tips & Warnings

• Some people also serve this meal with ham, and sometimes with rice as well.
• No southern meal of any sort is complete without iced sweet tea!

[karileighk]

on 7/16/2009 Great info!

[williamfjordan]

on 2/18/2009 fun article ... 5*

[purrfect1969-2]

on 1/2/2009 Our tradition is to eat pork and cabbage. One is for health and the other is for wealth, not sure which is which.

[theperfectfit]

on 12/30/2008 My mother called it Hoppie and John. Black-eyed peas and rice on New Year's Day. She was born in 1909 in Southern Georgia and passed on the recipes to her northern born children. Black-eyed peas and rice are good eating (and cheap) any time of the year. Happy New Year!

[WordWhizKid]

on 12/30/2008 Thanks for the interesting article, I didn't know about this Southern tradition until I moved to Atlanta, and I didn't know what the different foods meant. 5*s!