What to eat, and not eat, on New Year’s Day

Here is why we eat what we do on New Year's and why we don't eat other things:

Pork - we eat because the pig is always rooting forward, finding what he needs. It is important to move forward in the new year.

Chicken - we don't eat because they are always scratching backwards, kicking their good luck into their past.

Black-eyed Peas - we eat, but there are several stories as to why. One is that it was the only thing left on many southern plantations during the civil war after troops had raided and taken all their livestock and other foods, believing that the black-eyed peas were just feed for livestock and no good. Slaves adopted this early on and it was thought that the more black-eyed peas you ate, the more luck you would have. Another is that they represent money, which loosely ties back where the name "bean counter" comes from, talking about someone who counts money or does the accounting, but if you were a slave, you counted the beans too.

Catfish or other bottom-feeding fish - we don't eat because they do feed off the bottom of the lake and no one wants to be a bottom feeder.

Cornbread - we eat because it is gold! Well, if you use yellow cornmeal, but any corn or form will do. Like the black-eyed peas and greens, it's about wealth in the new year.

Beef in any form - we don't eat because cows eat standing still and it's all about moving forward in the new year.