Eating up holiday traditions; a taste into New Year’s day foods
Different cultures have different foods that they eat for the new year..."
Golden Triangle, Miss. (WCBI)- During this time of year, most people are getting prepared for a holiday tradition. Owner of Helen’s Kitchen, Kabir Karriem, and Owner of Camphouse in Starkville, said certain foods have special meaning.
“New Year’s Day lunch and dinner are traditionally pork, peas, and greens. The pork represents prosperity, so the pig is always rooting in the ground, and they are always rooting forward and so that is where that comes from. Green is for money and income, and the peas are for good luck. It is just the traditional southern meal that you eat your pork, greens, and peas for New Year’s Day, so that you can have your luck for the year, your money for the year, and your prosperity for the year,” said Peeples.
“Different cultures have different foods that they eat for the new year like pomegranate to noodles to pork, but here in the good ole south, we eat black eye peas, collard greens, and that good ole piece of cornbread. It is a tradition particularly here at Helen’s, every day and every year,” said Karriem.
Karriem believes that the tradition of one New Year’s Day food started with some hard times.
“History says that during the Civil War when the Union army came through, they took everything, but they left the black eye peas and so the Confederates thought that it brought them luck and that it was a survival meal normally fed to the animals, but it left them some food to eat and so they thought it was luck and so throughout history tradition, the black eye peas have become luck and prosperity,” said Karriem
