In the midst of all my 2014 Goal Planning and such I forgot to post about our New Years celebration. Since today marks the first full week of 2014, here’s a recap of our New Year’s celebrations & traditions! We kept it simple on NYE….with all the traveling we did for Christmas it was really nice to just hang & share our favorite moments of 2013.
New Year’s Day though…that we did right! With food of course…and not just any food….a traditional southern meal!! It’s always been a way of life in both our homes that the New Year’s day meal set the tone for the following year. Here’s what was on the Menu:
Corned Beef
Hogjaw
Cabbage (in the slaw…cause I don’t like real cabbage)
Black Eyed Peas
Greens
Cornbread
Each item has a significant meaning…
Corn beef or Hogjaw was one of the most inexpensive cuts of meat & became tradition as a New Years day celebratory meal. It is said to bring good health in the coming year. I’ve also heard that pork symbolizes good notion…either way, I’ll take a side of that for my new year!
Black Eyed Peas has been said to be a symbol of humility and will bring good fortune. It’s been explained that they specifically bring in the coin (because they either resemble coins or they expand, therefore your wealth will expand) while the collard greens (green beans or cabbage in my case) are to bring in the cash, or the “green”.
The cornbread is also a staple in this southern meal…mostly because it taste good, but also because of it’s golden color. Tradition has it that, “Peas for coins, greens for dollars, & cornbread for gold.”
As with all good southern traditions, the more you eat of these goodies, the more you will prosper in the coming year!
Luke was in hog heaven with such traditional home cooking…if tradition holds, he’ll have a mighty a good health & fortune!
It’s also been said that what you spend your New Years Day doing, you’ll be doing all year. So with that, this year should hold a lot of time in the kitchen & hanging out on the couch! How blessed I am!
Frankly my dear…here’s to tradition, y’all!
