I guess everyone has their own New Years Eve and New Years Day traditions. Probably the most common is the food we prepare and eat on New Years Day. In the South you will find people consuming black eyed peas, greens, pork and cornbread. Of course I have to mention the tradition of watching ball games. Bowl games are on all day. Most stores have begun having New Years Day sales. So the more recent tradition that was added is shopping.

Eating black eyed peas has been tradition for over 1500 years. This tradition was started to celebrate the Jewish Holiday known as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Black eyed peas was thought to bring good luck during the new year. Folklore says the tradition of eating black eyed peas begun after the civil war. Black eyed peas were and still are so inexpensive they were considered to be a poor mans food. It was thought eating them would bring humility and lack of vanity into ones life. An old saying that stemmed from eating black eyed peas was “Eat poor on New Year’s, and eat fat the rest of the year.” Also the loose peas seem to resemble coins. Once dried peas are placed in water they expand thus symbolizing expanding wealth.

Now if you want to gain green back in the new year you will need to eat greens. Turnip greens, collard greens or mustard greens you choose. Of course greens are thought to increase your wealth because of their green color matching the color of money.

Golden cornbread is added to the meal. According to most Southerners it just would not be right to eat greens with out a golden “pone” of cornbread. Because of the color of cornbread it represents gold that will come into your life during the new year.

The pork was actually added for the flavor and really no good luck theory. However some believe it offers positive motion in your life.

http://americanfood.about.com/od/resourcesadditionalinfo/a/New-Years-Day-Tradition-Black-Eyed-Peas.htm

A southern saying for this New Years Day meal is: “Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold.” Notice all of the foods and sayings are about money and being wealthy. It is not only money that makes us wealthy. How would it make us feel if we changed it a bit. Black eyed peas could represent the numerous friends in our lives. The greens could represent the wealth of having our families. The gold could represent past generations and their influence in our lives. Pork could represent the flavor of joy and fun in our lives. These are just a few thoughts from Veronica.

Have an awesome 2013. Enjoy my 3 ingredient recipe for BBQ Ribs.

Pork ribs
Coke
BBQ sauce

Wash and cut apart ribs. Place ribs in cooking pot. Pour coke over the ribs enough to cover them. Bring to boil quickly. Cover and reduce heat to low-med. Cook for about 2 hours or until fork tender. Drain liquid off and discard. Pour a small bottle of BBQ sauce over ribs continue cooking on low for 20-30 minutes. Turn heat up to Med High and allow some of the sauce to cook down. Very Tasty.