Everett Griner talks about Black Eyed peas and the New Years tradition in today’s Agri View. Black Eyed peas on New Year’s Day is an old tradition.
It was back in the great depression back in the 1930’s, each pea in the pot represented a dollar in the upcoming year. Whether you are superstitious or not, every stove had a pot of Black Eyed peas on for consumption on that day. It is unknown how wide-spread this custom is, but it is pretty universal in the South. The South is where the depression hit the hardest.
Here we are, almost a century later. Most stores carry a bigger stock of Black Eyed Peas than normal in the last two weeks of the year.
A dollar for every pea in the pot. Everett never really counted. But, it’s a good vegetable, so who cares?