Like most new years days I woke up thinking about a pea. A Black Eyed Pea. It is a southern tradition from the deep south to eat a bowl or at least a helping of black eyed peas for good luck on new years day.
My grandmothers (both of them) made sure that tradition was carried out. It made an impression on me when I was younger to the extent that I thought you may be foolishly taking your life in your own hands if you failed to carry out this ritual.. It was not until I was in college that I came across a very interesting professor of Texas and American History that knew the real reason why.
The story of THE BLACK EYED PEA being considered good luck relates directly back to Sherman's Bloody March to the Sea in late 1864. It was called The Savannah Campaign and was lead by Major General William T. Sherman. The Civil War campaign began on 11/15/64 when Sherman 's troops marched from the captured city of Atlanta, Georgia and ended at the port of Savannah on 12/22/1864. When the smoke cleared, the southerners who had survived the onslaught came out of hiding. They found that the blue belly aggressors that had looted and stolen every thing of value, and everything you could eat including all livestock, death and destruction were everywhere. While in hiding few had enough to eat starvation was now upon the survivors. There was no international aid, no red cross meal trucks. The Northern army had taken everything they could carry and eaten everything they could eat. But they couldn’t take it all. The devastated people of the south found for some unknown reason Sherman’s bloodthirsty troops had left silos full of black eyed peas. You see at the time in the north the lowly black eyed pea was only used to feed stock. The northern troops saw it as the thing of least value, taking grain for their horses, livestock and other crops to feed themselves they just couldn’t take everything. So they left the black eyed peas in great quantities assuming it would be of no use to the survivors because all the stock that it could feed had either been taken or eaten. See the full story at http://www.myspace.com/ronperrin
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Ronperrin writes:
Like most new years days I woke up thinking about a pea. A Black Eyed Pea. It is a southern tradition from the deep south to eat a bowl or at least a helping of black eyed peas for good luck on new years day.
My grandmothers (both of them) made sure that tradition was carried out. It made an impression on me when I was younger to the extent that I thought you may be foolishly taking your life in your own hands if you failed to carry out this ritual.. It was not until I was in college that I came across a very interesting professor of Texas and American History that knew the real reason why.
The story of THE BLACK EYED PEA being considered good luck relates directly back to Sherman's Bloody March to the Sea in late 1864. It was called The Savannah Campaign and was lead by Major General William T. Sherman. The Civil War campaign began on 11/15/64 when Sherman 's troops marched from the captured city of Atlanta, Georgia and ended at the port of Savannah on 12/22/1864.
When the smoke cleared, the southerners who had survived the onslaught came out of hiding. They found that the blue belly aggressors that had looted and stolen every thing of value, and everything you could eat including all livestock, death and destruction were everywhere. While in hiding few had enough to eat starvation was now upon the survivors.
There was no international aid, no red cross meal trucks. The Northern army had taken everything they could carry and eaten everything they could eat. But they couldn’t take it all. The devastated people of the south found for some unknown reason Sherman’s bloodthirsty troops had left silos full of black eyed peas. You see at the time in the north the lowly black eyed pea was only used to feed stock. The northern troops saw it as the thing of least value, taking grain for their horses, livestock and other crops to feed themselves they just couldn’t take everything. So they left the black eyed peas in great quantities assuming it would be of no use to the survivors because all the stock that it could feed had either been taken or eaten. See the full story at http://www.myspace.com/ronperrin
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.