What is the history behind eating pork sauerkraut black-eyed peas lentils and pickled herring during New Year?
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Publish Date not found |  0 Views |
The Story of the Traditional Southern Good Luck Meal on New Year's Day
Serious Mealtimes / Samara Linnell
As the stale fumes of sauerkraut filled our house year after year my younger self was chagrined by the disappointment of New Year’s Day. The excitement of Christmas was officially over it was time to go back to school and of course my family’s lucky foods weren’t kid-friendly like cookies or ice cream. My mother cooked her annual big roast pork with sauerkraut and a pan of black-eyed peas. I would have none of it and sullenly ate a pale mountain of mashed potatoes.
Now I’m the one who happily stinks up the house with sauerkraut pork and peas; I enjoy this food and don’t limit it to New Year’s Eve. But I’ve always wondered about our family tradition. My mother grew up in Ohio with lots of German and Polish neighbors while my father’s gang of military brat brothers and sisters lived on air bases in Florida and Louisiana. Mom brought the pork and sauerkraut to our table traditions; Dad the black-eyed ones. But which cultures started this festive superstition in the first place? And why that food?
