They had their favorite foods, and black-eyed peas were frequently on the short list for special occasions. In many West African religious traditions, deities had human attributes. Before European contact, West Africans didn’t have an analogous New Year’s Day food tradition, but as with many cultures around the world, they celebrated auspicious days with symbolic food or by preparing a traditional meal. They belong to a broader category of beans called “cowpeas” in West Africa and “field peas” in the South.

Scots, one of the largest white ethnic immigrant groups to British North America, brought the first foot superstition with them to the South.īlack-eyed peas, which despite the name are actually a type of bean, are native to West Africa, and they are common in cuisines throughout the region. Sometimes that visitor brought gifts to enhance the prospect of prosperity in the new year, which could include food.

Change anything up, like the hair color or the gender, and that’s bad luck, y’all. the “first foot” in your home, is a dark-haired or dark-complexioned man. The Scots believed that on New Year’s Day, you’ll have good luck all year long if the first visitor you get, i.e. For our purposes, the most relevant example is Scotland’s “first footer,” or “first foot,” tradition. Not everyone was on board at first, and many European countries operated with different calendars until Pope Gregory XIII modified the Julian calendar in 1582.Įuropeans fully embraced the idea that doing something, or having something happen, on the first day of the year would have year-long consequences. Doing what dictators do, Caesar switched things up in 46 B.C.E and started the year in January. The Roman annual calendar used to begin in March, in honor of Mars, the god of war. Let’s break this culinary tradition down into its key ingredients.įirst of all, we can thank the Romans, specifically Julius Caesar, that our calendar begins in January. I’m here to provide answers, and those answers come from a layered culinary and cultural mashup of West Africa and Western Europe. I know that I’m supposed to do it, but I’m not sure why.

For people who don’t fall into one of those categories, and even for many who do, the tradition is a bit of a head-scratcher. This superstition has its strongest hold on people with some connection to the South, whether by birth, bloodlines, or current residency. On New Year’s Day, millions of people will dutifully eat some amount of black-eyed peas with the hope that it will lead to prosperity throughout next year.

Soul food book adrian miller