Squid, I've never heard of that meal as a New Year's tradition....what's the origins?
Corned beef and cabbage come from the Irish tradition. Black eyed peas from the Southern.
In the South, it is believed eating black eyed peas on New Year's eve will bring luck for the coming year. Also from the south comes the custom of eating greens such as cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, kale or spinach to bring money.
Corned beef and cabbage is a local one, more or less, I guess. We have an area here called "The Irish Channel". On Canal Blvd the neutral ground (the area between opposing traffic- I dont know what the rest of the country callls them) used to be a canal (hence the name of the street) that was dug primarily by Irish immigrants many of whom died from malaria, typhoid, etc being spread by the swarms of mosquitos. Theres a legend/myth that many, many of the workers who died were buried there while they had the trenches already dug. On the surface you might not really see it, but we have a pretty strong historical presence of Irish traditions. I assume thats why we eat Corned beef and cabbage, it overlaps the South's cabbage tradition and ties the Irish and the Southern together, so to speak.
One more from the Southerners: eating cornbread will bring wealth. The Southern custom of eating greens can be found in other cultures as well, although the cabbage can take many forms, like sauerkraut or kimchee.
Mmmmm, kimchee
Wow, thats kind of rambling, eh?
sheesh, my head already hurts, no alchohol needed, if this gets bad enough I will get to spend new years in the hospital, oh yeah.
At least youll be pumped full of the finest pharmaceuticals that money can buy. :stoned: <-- they need that smiley
lease stay safe on your journey home and watch out for the other drivers who may be impared.I want to see each and every one of you sometime back here alive and well...hungover or not.
Thanks.
