Dishes of black-eyed peas, greens and pork are sure to appear on the tables of many Teche Area residents Tuesday as they celebrate with family and friends on New Year’s Day.

As many families reflect on the past and prepare for the upcoming year, they aren’t leaving everything up to fate. They will include a variety of foods believed to be lucky and can help increase their good fortune.

While common folklore tells the tradition of including black-eyed peas, greens, and pork in the meal spread in the South after the Civil War, there is variety of explanations for the symbolism.

For many area residents a serving of black-eyed peas and cabbage is a must-have for prosperity and good health in the New Year. Whether it works or not, it is a tradition that area residents are not ready to give up.

Area cooks say there is no right or wrong way to cook the dishes of good fortune. It is all a matter of individual taste.

Carolyn Broussard likes to stick with the tradition. A little black-eyed peas and serving of cabbage are a must for the New Iberia resident, but she likes to get creative in the way it is prepared. Broussard’s “New Year’s Day Soup” has received a nod of approval from family and friends, as well as the judges of the 2012 Cajun Sugar Co-op / The Daily Iberian Cajun / Creole Cookbook cookoff competition. Her soup recipe was selected among the top four dishes in the Soups and Gumbos division.

“I like to eat black-eyed peas and cabbage and pork on New Year’s Day, but I wanted to cook it in a way that I really liked,” said Broussard.

“I like vegetable soup, so decided I would try a black-eye pea and sausage soup. It was good, but when I asked my brother-in-law Jerome Fitch how I could enhance the flavor, he suggested adding cabbage. Now it has become known as the ‘New Year’s Day Soup’ because of the good luck ingredients of black-eyed peas and cabbage.”

Her sister-in-law Dianne Broussard, has her own customary black-eyed pea dish – smothered black-eyed peas in bacon grease.

“It is simple to cook but flavorful. As kids, growing up, we always had a serving of black-eyed peas for good health and some cabbage for good luck,” she said.

Black-eyed peas, cabbage and pork have a special place on the New Year’s Day table for John Olivier Sr. and his family.

“My grandmother served this, my mother and now my family enjoys the same traditional favorites. Black-eyed peas cooked with Tasso or smoked sausage and served over rice is a family favorite. We always have a dish of cabbage on the table for the New Year’s Day celebration,” he said.

The cabbage leaf or any greens such as collard, turnip or mustard greens are considered a sign of prosperity, often being representative of paper currency associated with good luck for monetary gain.

Oliver said it is a tradition in his family to break a small piece of a cabbage leaf, wrap it tightly in foil and offer it to each family member or person who visits as a token of hope for prosperity for the New Year.

“We keep it in our vehicle all year. When the New Year comes round, it is replaced,” he said.

Olivier, a New Iberia resident, said pork was always included in the family New Year’s meal. Folklore tales have it that the custom of eating pork over chicken or beef on New Year’s Day was based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress since the animal pushes forward or digs with its snout in the ground before moving, while chickens scratch backward and cows stand still, allowing for little progress. The rich fat content of pork also symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

“Many people believe pork is associated with good luck. Growing up, I can remember my parents and grandparents would do a boucherie in the winter time so we would have pork for New Year’s Day,” he said.

The New Year’s Day dinner celebration at the home of Ricky and Sue Clement of Jeanerette include time-honored black-eyed peas and cabbage, with a “New Year’s Jambalaya” as the star attraction at their dinner table.

“When I was growing up, each year my mom would include the traditional New Year’s ‘good luck’ dishes, cabbage and black-eyed peas. I can’t actually say that it brought us good luck, but it certainly was tasty. While in the early years, she usually served smothered cabbage and peas separate as side dishes to compliment the meat, her meals eventually evolved into the recipe I now use for my family on New Year’s day,” said Sue Clement.

“It’s one that combines the vegetables with meat and/or seafood and lends itself to many variations. Meat and seafood can be added or omitted according to your particular taste. My family enjoys it and I love it because it means only having to clean one pot.”