Black-eyed peas. Well okay, they’re actually a bean. (AKA: field peas or cowpeas.) You’ll know you’re with a Southerner if they serve these lil’ legumes on New Year’s day. Black-eyed peas are believed to bring good luck and prosperity. For many, they symbolize the emancipation of enslaved African Amercians, made official on New Year’s day of 1863.
