Some people believe what they eat and when they eat it, can lead to a more prosperous 2025.

Grocery cashier Cassie Alayn saw plenty of evidence to support that Tuesday as she rang up plenty of black-eyed peas, cabbage and cornbread mix. Shoppers didn’t want to miss out on the meal that could make or break their coming year, especially when the dried beans and cabbage were marked down for the occasion.

Zach Menard eats black-eyed peas once a year on New Year’s Day. He quickly puts the kibosh on any air of cynicism when he says, “ I’ve been working the same job for 20 years and haven’t been laid off yet.”

Most Southerners are familiar with the traditional New Year’s meal. The black-eyed peas. usually flavored with sausage, smoked ham hocks or turkey necks or leftover Christmas ham, represent coins. An online Food Network article suggests eating exactly one black-eyed pea for each day, 365 in all.

The black-eyed pea is a cowpea and member of the legume family. Both names are descriptive. In Colonial times it was used to feed livestock. It also fed Civil War soldiers.

However, to trace the roots of the hope that present-day Americans place in the black-eyed pea , it is necessary to go back to the 1600s. That is when West African slaves were brought to America. Their food and plants came with them, as well as their culture and beliefs. The black-eyed pea was a talisman of sorts, thought to ward off the evil eye, spells. It was also consumed on auspicious occasions.

Double your money now. Fold it in half. – Will Rogers

Cabbage leaves represent bills, greenbacks, and folding money. In many Southern households collard greens are the preferred choice because they are easier to grow and can withstand the hot and the cold temps.

Food critic and historian Jessica B. Harris said in a New York Times interview that the word collards is “a corruption of colewort,” a non-heading cabbage. The article also said that the preference for collard greens originated in Northern Europe. Early German settlers preferred cabbage.

Even the cornbread’s golden color is symbolic of eating one’s way to a more prosperous future. It will be needed to sop up the pot likker if the New Year’s Day traditional meal includes a mess of greens instead of a head of cabbage. (Some people actually drink it as a tonic. It is rich in vitamins and minerals.)) A “mess” of greens is a picking that’s big enough to serve the family, the number of people who will be eating the “mess” of greens. Pot likker is the liquid gold in the bottom of the pot after slow cooking collard, turnip or mustard greens with seasoning and a piece of smoked pork or turkey.

Not everyone believed that they’d be more prosperous by consuming the traditional New Year’s Day meal, but they didn’t want to skip it either. 2024 was a hard year, financially. What’s the harm in consuming a couple of healthy, easy-to-prepare, slow-cooking dishes that taste delicious, just in case.