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| Good luck awaits those who eat black-eyed peas |
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| News - Community News | |||
| Written by Doug Carder | |||
| Wednesday, 17 December 2008 08:00 | |||
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The New Year’s Day meal at Tim and Angela Johnson’s Louisburg home will feature a generous helping of black-eyed peas and salt pork. “I have never gone a New Year’s without eating black-eyed peas,” said Angela Johnson, who is originally from Sulphur Springs, Texas. Black-eyed peas are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day in the South for good luck. The Johnsons are among a legion of Southerners who are spreading the tradition to other parts of the U.S. “I made black-eyed peas for my neighbors last year. It met with mixed results,” said Johnson, laughing. “But even those who didn’t like it, I made them try at least one pea for good luck.” Louisburg residents will have a chance to partake in the tradition and help needy families at the same time by attending a “Eat Your Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s Day for Good Luck” feast from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 1 at Fox Hall. The black-eyed pea meal, sponsored by Steve Hamilton and Pat Apple, is free to the public. The event’s organizers are accepting donations, which will go the Agape Christian Center food pantry in Louisburg.  “It is a known fact that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day will bring you a year of good luck, and with the way the economy is going, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start it off right,” Hamilton said. Hamilton said the black-eyed pea dinner is all in good fun and for a good cause. “We will keep all donations in town to help a few families that need an extra hand,” he said. Originally native to Africa, the pale bean with a prominent black spot was introduced to the West Indies and the American South in the 1700s, but some historians say the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck dates to the Civil War. Union troops under the command of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman confiscated nearly every Southern foodstuff they could carry on their march to the sea. But the Northern soldiers considered black-eyed peas to be suitable only as animal fodder and left them in the fields. Many Southerners survived on this humble staple as a result, according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. A traditional Southern meal on New Year’s Day may feature black-eyed peas cooked with collard greens, bacon, ham bones or fatback and corn bread. The tradition has yet to take hold in Louisburg. Gary Harper, produce manager at Louisburg Price Chopper, said he orders 24, 12-ounce bags of fresh black-eyed peas for delivery right after Christmas. “It’s the only time of the year I carry them. Otherwise, I would be throwing them away,” Harper said. Price Chopper offers canned black-eyed peas, but Johnson encourages people to try the fresh variety. “In Texas, you had to get to the store early or they would be sold out,” she said. Harper believes in the good fortune of black-eyed peas. “They are not my favorite pea, but I eat a spoonful every New Year’s for good luck,” he said. Like minded, Johnson isn’t about to break tradition this New Year’s Day. “I’ve always thought of myself as having good luck,” she said. “I’m not going to stop eating them and test it.”
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