Black-eyed peas are traditionally eaten at New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day meals in the southern United States.
The legume is associated with luck and prosperity, especially when served with greens and cornbread. A common saying links black-eyed peas with coins, greens with paper money, and cornbread with gold, although recipes and interpretations vary between families and regions. The dish Hoppin’ John, made with black-eyed peas and rice, is a particularly well-known Southern preparation.
The tradition is often connected to the Civil War era and the belief that black-eyed peas were overlooked as animal food or humble provisions when other supplies were scarce. The exact origin of the superstition is debated, and food customs developed differently across the South.
Black-eyed peas are not actually peas in the botanical sense; they are a type of cowpea. Their pale seed has a dark spot, which gives them their familiar English name. Eating them is a regional custom, not a universal New Year practice across the United States.