Black-eyed peas and other New Year's traditions

On New Year’s I anciipated black-eyed peas with cornbread, a side of cabbage, and a glass of iced tea.

How black-eyed peas became a symbol of good luck is a true tall Texas tale worth hearing. The habit of including cabbage 'for money' comes from farther afield. Like many other New Year’s traditions, cabbage made its way from Eastern Europe to our American tables. Tea? Well, that’s a fascinating tale for another time. But now, here’s this.

Ever hear that opening and eating a pomegranate brings good luck? Greeks celebrate New Year’s Day by smashing pomegranates and ingesting some of the seeds for abundance, fertility and good fortune. In Latin American countries, taking an empty suitcase through the house is thought to bring good luck and more travel in the new year. In Denmark, leaping from a chair or couch at the stroke of midnight can bring a profitable 'jump' into the new year. In Spain, revelers pop 12 grapes into their mouths as the clock chimes midnight. Portuguese people go to the ocean to follow the custom of jumping over waves and whispering a wish with each wave. Some folklore teaches that falling asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve may trap you in the old year or taint your luck in the new one.

I actually did two of these on New Year’s Eve. I opened a pomegranate to enjoy a few seeds, then fell asleep before midnight. So I guess that’s just my luck!

But, back to Texas’ black-eyed pea, good-luck tradition. It began in the late 1930s when a promoter named Elmore Torn of the East Texas Chamber of Commerce went to work helping Athens farmers promote their crops commercially. Torn started a Black-Eyed Pea Festival, and mailed out small tins of the peas to reporters and celebrities around the United States, and even reached President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill with his claims that the pea was nutritious, brought luck, and served as an example of America’s fighting spirit. Within a few years, Torn’s altruistic endeavors regarding black-eyed peas had elevated interest across the nation for the canned and fresh varieties and had boosted the East Texas economy. The idea of eating black-eyed peas for luck has become so enshrined in tradition, stores often sell out, all because of the determined spirit and wiley wisdom of, Mr. Torn, later the father of actor Rip Torn and uncle of Quitman’s own Sissy Spacek.