New Year’s Day Traditional Southern Meal

Posted on by Julia

January 2, 2026

Black-eyed peas are for luck or silver depending on which family member you ask. While you can eat them in several different ways, I always make them the way my family did when I was growing up.

Greens are for having lots of cash come your way.

Cornbread, a lovely gold color, is for having gold come to you.

You can tell this is an old tradition, started when money was mostly silver and gold.

I made my family’s traditional meal.

Cornbread Sticks, Collard Greens, Black-eyed Peas with Bacon, and a Small Slice of Country Ham

The leftover collard greens are going to be made into a hortopita, a Greek pie similar to spanakoptia.

I may toss in some black-eyed peas. I noticed in one of my Greek cookbooks, “Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die” by Diane Kochilas, that hortopita can have pumpkin or zucchini in it. I also read that they use black-eyed peas in salads. So why not make this hortopita a Southern-style hortopita?

I’ll let you know how it turns out!

May 2026 be a happy and prosperous year for you and your family!

22 thoughts on “New Year’s Day Traditional Southern Meal”

  8. I thought only Asians do this, haha. Like eating soba (noodles) on New Year’s Eve for long life and all the other symbolic ingredients.

    Also, I love collard greens, and I stewing it for several hours with a smoked hamhock, and a minced onion 🤤🤤🤤.

    In CO, my brother thinks he’s Greek because of all his Greek friends, and I loved it when his friend’s mom would make spanakopita… one of my favorite dishes (they own the market across from the Greek Orthodox Church near Monaco).

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    1. There are so many traditions for good luck for the New Year. One of my friends was telling me what they ate in Pennsylvania for New Year’s tradition. It was German sausage and sauerkraut. Another of my friends always makes soft pretzels for her husband.

      I remember the Greek Orthodox Church. A beautiful building. We went to the church Greek festival some years. I didn’t realize there was a market across from the church.

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      2. It has been a while since I had been over there, so I wasn’t sure if it was a more recent store or I just never noticed it. It is funny how places aren’t always where we remember them.

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Published by Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We have a 12-pound dog, Nox, who we love dearly. She has been with us since 2009. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. We bought a ranch house on a hill in the middle of five acres. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist and I’ll share my current projects. Reading is my favorite hobby.