Happy New Year everybody! It was a very happy new year, indeed! I got my man back home just in time for my midnight kiss. 😉
It was our first “New Years Kiss” (since last year the combination of champagne and spicy cajun food did it’s work on my stomach, and we watched the ball drop from the behind the backs of our eyelids) This time, we got to fully enjoy it! He flew into Denver, so we had dinner in LoDo (lower downtown Denver) & got done just in time to grab a Starbucks & watch the fireworks launch off right above us.
The next morning we got to spend a much needed day together!
Breakfast, relaxing, cleaning & even a little bike riding (you know you‘re starting to become a “Coloradoan” when you’re out riding with an outside temperature of 28 degrees & fresh laid snow on the ground!)
We finished the day off with my annual New Year’s Day feast. (A tradition that has been a long time part of my family.) When I purchased the black eyed peas at the store, the cashier asked me if I was superstitious or from the South…. which, I am neither… but my roots go waaaaayy down South!
From Left to Right:
Honeybaked Ham –For Health & Wealth
(don’t judge me! they were all out of Hams at the grocery store! Besides…they are just so darn good!!)
Black Eyed Peas – For Luck
Collard Greens – For Money
Potatoes – For “The Picky Eater” aka Bran 😉
While whipping up these yummy foods, I got to thinking about why exactly it has become tradition for us to eat these foods on New Year’s Day. I knew the Black Eyed Peas are supposed to be for luck. The greens are for money, but I wanted to know more. Why are these foods considered to bring forth such prosperity in the new year?
Enter Google (Google knows everything)
This link of info was incredibly helpful!
http://littlerock.about.com/od/festivals/a/Black-Eyed-Peas-For-New-Years-Luck.htm
(I love that the link says “little rock” – as my ancestors traveled Route 66 from Arkansas to Cali during the dust bowl.)
For example: I didn’t know Ham had significant meaning. (I just always thought it tasted really good with Black Eyed Peas & Collard Greens.) But apparently in Southern farming families, pigs represented health & wealth, because if you had a pig then you would be able to eat all winter long – a matter of life or death, for some. It also represents progress because “A pig can’t turn his head to look back without turning completely
around, so it’s believed that pigs are always looking to the future.” (source) Pretty interesting huh?!
You can read more about why Black Eyed Peas & Greens are considered prosperous New Year‘s Day eats, by following the above link. A very interesting read, for sure! Happy New Year’s, again everyone!
Do you have any traditional foods you eat on New Year’s Day?
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