where did the southern tradition of.....?

Question

eating collards greens, black eyed peas, and pork on new years day come from?I know where the tradition on the collards greens and black eyed peas came from but why pork?

Answer 1

These traditions date back to the U.S War of Northern Aggression (a.k.a. the US Civil War), especially in those areas ravaged by the Yankee General William T. Sherman.

Sherman's troops, among those of other Yankee (and some Confederate) commanders, would typically strip the countryside of all food and livestock and destroy what they couldn't carry away. At that time, northerners considered black-eyed peas or "field peas" as they called them, and corn only fit for animal fodder, and as a result didn't steal or destroy them. This mistake allowed many southerners to survive on these humble foods.

Collard greens also resulted from the ante-bellum tradition of giving the slaves the discarded tops from vegetables such as turnips etc. The ham hocks and hog jowls were also given to the slaves as they were considered inedible or undesirable by the owners. The pork would then be smoked to make it more palatable and also to help preserve it.

Answer 2

these are foods that poor people often ate. stick to your ribs dishes. my family from Kentucky makes ham and navy beans for new years dinner, served with cornbread.

Answer 3

From being a poor dirt farmer and being able to afford anything else.


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