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Old 12-30-2007, 12:18 PM
 
10,238 posts, read 19,535,811 times
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Being an affectionado of Texas/Southern culture, I am posting this on many of the Southern states' forums, to get some input, etc.. I apologize ahead of time for it being a bit long. But if you have a few minutes, you might enjoy it...and have some strong opinions one way or another!

It concerns the Southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Years Day. When I first read the article (which is pasted below), I was taken aback and even, in a strange way, "insulted"...if that makes sense. Today, the regional affilation of Texas is often debated. However, when it comes to eating black-eyed peas on New Years Day, we are without question part of the "Solid South"! LOL

Ok...it starts here, with my own preface...*AHEM*

The story goes that the Southern custom of eating black-eyed peas on New Years Day is traceable to the wartime South when the yankee army plundered and pillaged thru Georgia and took and burned everything worth stealing and settin' afire. The noteable exception being some sort of legume previously considered worthless except for cow feed. With no choice, destitute Southern families had to turn to them for food...and found they were, in fact, mighty tasty! And? It being around the first of the year 1864, this discovery was considered to be an omen of "good luck"! From there, it became an established Southern tradition which spread west into Texas as a revered memory of what our ancestors went thru.

BUT...here is something else which was published several years disputing this legend....

[i]****************

http://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckhar...d-Pea-Hoax.htm (broken link)

THE GREAT BLACKEYED PEA HOAX
by C. F. Eckhardt

Did you eat blackeyed peas for good luck on New Year's Day? Did you do so because it's a 'great ante-bellum Southern tradition?' If so, congratulations. You have been scammed by one of the most likeable con-artists in Texas history.

Blackeyed peas have been a Southern staple for centuries, it's true-but they were a staple food for 'po' folks' and animals. Traveler might have eaten blackeyed peas in his stall on New Year's Day, but you can bet they didn't grace the table of Marse Bob and family on that date. It was not, in fact, until World War I that blackeyed peas moved out of the sharecropper's shanty and into the landowner's house. They're a good source of protein, and what with things like 'Meatless Tuesdays' during the First World War, they were used primarily as a meat substitute.

In 1947 a feller named Elmore Torn, Sr. was hired as the flack for the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce. You probably won't remember Elmore Sr., but you might have heard of his son, Elmore Jr. He's an actor better known as 'Rip' Torn.

.....................................
**************************

Me again. LOL

As I recall, I first read of this was when someone wrote into the Dallas Morning News...for meanness it seemed. . And a LOT of folks wrote in to, in turn, insist THEY remembered eating them for "good luck" long before 1947. Some were really angry, suggesting that whoever concocted this heresy that it was a con-job was a damn yankee or worse! LOL

Personally, I don't know whether the whole thing began with a sharp East Texas feller, or that it truly IS something traceable to the wartime South. Like the old saying goes, when the truth comes up against the legend, always go with the legend. It is much more interesting! But at the same time, hey, if it really was nothing more than a hoax? Then the guy started a wonderful Southern tradition in its own right. Ain't nothing wrong with THAT!

Y'all...?

Last edited by mbmouse; 01-03-2008 at 07:48 AM.. Reason: copy write issues.
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Old 12-30-2007, 12:37 PM
 
Location: Tennessee
6,295 posts, read 23,154,037 times
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I have no idea where the tradition came from (I've heard different theories), but my mother does it every year. I too think it started long before 1947.
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Old 12-31-2007, 10:26 AM
 
Location: Sparta, TN
275 posts, read 1,122,577 times
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We are fixin Black-eye peas, Cabbage, and corned beef tonight.
always do on New Years eve.
It's suppose to be the first meal of the year.
has been for many years.

just an excuse to have family and friends iver on New Years Eve!
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Old 12-31-2007, 01:39 PM
 
36,076 posts, read 30,572,748 times
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My folks alway had black-eye peas for New Years. Im sure it was a tradition handed down to them so probably was before 1947. I dont care where or how it started it ended for my family with me and my sibs. Yuck! I hate black-eyed peas.
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Old 12-31-2007, 02:05 PM
 
28,803 posts, read 47,545,760 times
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We do ham and beans instead, but for the same reason.
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Old 12-31-2007, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Windy City South, Far South
43 posts, read 161,299 times
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Don't know much about it being southern tradition but I do know Black Eyed Peas make for a great meal, even to us Mid Westerners.
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Old 12-31-2007, 04:29 PM
 
Location: Chattanooga
2,071 posts, read 7,660,753 times
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opinion piece in Chattanooga Times-Free Press yesterday explained that tradition started soon after Civil War when Southerners were left with next-to-nothing since the Union troops took almost everything. Only thing left on the farm were black-eyed peas (which the troops left because they thought they were for feeding livestock) and the unedible parts of the pig (ie...hog jowels) They eat this every New Years not only for good luck but also a reminder of those times.

If that's the case, then it sounds like everyone here forgot what the reason was.
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Old 01-02-2008, 07:13 AM
 
36,076 posts, read 30,572,748 times
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Well I stand corrected. My son stayed with me over new years and he fixed black eyed peas and jowl! So I guess the tradition continues.

Thanks for that info Tridad. I like that explanation better. I wish I had asked my parents why the black eyed peas.
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Old 01-02-2008, 07:29 AM
 
Location: Chattanooga TN
2,349 posts, read 10,629,189 times
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We do peas for luck and greens for well um green (money)! lol I have never thought about this being a southern tradition but I was raised mostly in the south and of course this is the center of my universe for what that's worth. Wish some of those Yankees would chime in but I have a pretty good guess 'cause who else would eat the nasty buggers?
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Old 01-02-2008, 08:23 AM
 
Location: Beautiful Lakes & Mountains of East TN
3,454 posts, read 7,391,288 times
Reputation: 882
Yup, so far I have read in 2 cookbooks that the peas represent coins, the greens dollar bills, and the hog jowl is to ward off evil spirits...
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