By now, you probably know the short
answer: We eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day because it's supposed to be lucky. But who
are the people behind that superstition? Is the answer:
- A ransacked Confederate army, surviving on the only food left
untouched during the war: black-eyed peas. According to legend, General
Sherman didn't bother destroying the crops because they were such a lowly
food source, basically only good for livestock.
- Enslaved people on the day when the Emancipation Proclamation
finally set them free. It was New Year's, and they were free by law, but
with nothing to eat except black-eyed peas.
- The people of Vicksburg, Mississippi, who managed to survive a two-month
Civil War siege on—you guessed it—black-eyed peas.
- Southern farmers. Winter crops were sparse, though black-eyed peas
were a cheap and non-perishable option that could get them through the
season.
Clearly,
the answer differs depending on if you read articles in The Spruce Eats, Allrecipes,
Today, or Tripsavvy. When
it comes to folklore, a clear answer is never as interesting as what the myths
share in common. Three things link these groups and their stories: the South,
the Civil War era, and the fact that times were tough.
The black-eyed pea didn't become a symbol
of hard times; instead, it's a lucky New Year's superstition that can offer
wealth and prosperity. No matter what version of the myth you pick, the
black-eyed pea is a metaphor for grit and survival. It's an inspirational
American story. Our ancestors survived the worst. We remember them and
celebrate by eating Hoppin' John.
Still, one thing sticks out—what do
farmers, townspeople, soldiers, and enslaved people have in common? That's a
wide-ranging group of people. Yet somehow, all their descendants came to
embrace the same, edible tradition. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is
one of the few cultural traditions to successfully jump identity politics. The
myth has managed to morph into a story for anyone looking for a little luck in
their future. It's a uniquely American tale of unification, but does it matter
that each group changed the origin story of the New Year's tradition to suit
their outlook?
Of course, it's entirely possible that
all four myths have truth in them. It makes sense that people in hard-pressed
circumstances survived on black-eyed peas. No matter where you came from, you
ate the same thing when times got rough. But the four black-eyed pea origin
stories are significant in their differences. In 2020, the country saw a
cultural reckoning. The year of protests, elections, and pandemic showed us our
stories and realities were at odds. The discrepancy behind the origin of
black-eyed peas shows us an undeniably American story of in-groups and deeply
rooted pride that can turn polarizing. The tradition's longevity proves that
remnants of the Civil War continue today.
The story of black-eyed peas as a New
Year's tradition carries three major American storylines: resilience,
unification, and its opposite. They're about so much more than luck. In an
article for The Spruce Eats, Andrea
Lynn wrote, "Eating these simple legumes demonstrates humility and a lack of
vanity. The humble nature of the black-eyed pea is echoed by the old expression
'Eat poor on New Year's, and eat fat for the rest of the year.'" Black-eyed
peas are a serving of humble pie that offers luck. At the very least, eating
them is a reminder to remain unpretentious and optimistic. That sounds like a
solid attitude to carry into a new year.
