[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 486]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                         IT'S A SOUTHERN THING

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 9, 2009

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, as we kick off 2009, people across 
the country are making their new year's resolutions and families are 
carrying on with their special traditions to start the year out on a 
good note. Of course by mid February you should be able to get a close 
parking spot at the gym since that's about the time motivation for the 
fitness resolution begins to wane. However, there are some traditions 
that endure year after year, particularly in the South where we seem to 
value our heritage and culture a little more than our friends to the 
north.
  Since I grew up in Texas, black eyed peas and football were the norm 
for my family, and everyone I knew, on New Year's Day. Everyone had to 
have at least one bite for good luck, like it or not, it was the rule. 
It wasn't until I met my first northerner that I realized this was a 
southern thing unique only unto us.
  There are stories that date the ``good luck'' tradition all the way 
back the pharaohs of Egypt, but for us it goes back to the War Between 
the States. During General Sherman's March to the Sea in late December 
1864, he ordered the Union troops to ``burn and destroy'' everything 
they saw, and ``leave a trail that will be recognized fifty years 
hence.''
  In the aftermath of the devastation of the South, the only fields 
that were spared were the crops of black eyed peas and corn. The 
Northern soldiers considered them food for the livestock and didn't 
waste time burning them, thereby leaving them as the only real source 
of food left for the starving southerners. As a result, black eyed peas 
were seen as the saving grace of the South and became a sentimental 
symbol of better days that lie ahead.
  Now there are a lot of theories on why we must eat them on New Year's 
Day, but they all revolve around the principle that they bring good 
luck and prosperity in the coming year. Every family has a different 
way of cooking them, if you're from the South you can bet your family 
has a recipe.
  In Texas, some just like to serve plain ole' ``East Texas Caviar'' 
(as black eyed peas are referred to in Texas). My friends over in 
Louisiana like to ``kick it up a notch'' and add tomatoes and Cajun 
spices, some folks make Hoppin' John with rice and hammocks, and most 
everyone serves them with cornbread and some type of greens such as 
collards, mustard or turnip greens, or just cabbage or cole slaw to 
symbolize money. But you can't just eat the greens and expect a 
prosperous year, you have to have the peas too. Just one bite, it's the 
rule. (Although some say you have to eat 365 peas, one for each day or 
eat ``every bean and pea on your plate''--I leave that one up to you!)
  I have even heard of people putting a penny in the pot and whoever 
gets the penny in their bowl gets the ``best'' luck of the year. Maybe 
this is like the baby in the King Cake? Whatever the case, it is a 
tradition that runs deep in the South and I am glad to see that it is 
still alive and well. Both my grandmothers had their special recipes, 
and every New Year's Day I still hound my kids and grandkids to make 
sure they eat their peas. So, I hope you all had your black eyed peas 
and for all you transplants living in the great State of Texas, I hope 
you get with the program and try some East Texas Caviar to start your 
year off right. It's a Southern thing.
  And that's just the way it is.

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