I am curious, what foods do you traditionally prepare for New Years??

We have traditionally had the exact same New Year's meal for the past 35 years and it is the same thing my folks had for as long as I can remember. My Hubby's family, also, has a very simalar traditional New Year's Dinner. New Year's Dinner Black-eyed Peas (the dried ones, soaked overnight and cooked half the day) Seasoned with fatback drippings. Hog Jowl & some Fatback Collards (fresh ones, cooked in the spider that the fatback and hog jowl were cooked in, some grease left in and water added, cover pan and simmer till tender) Cornbread and sometimes, Fried 'taters(Daddy always said these were for LOVE, 'cause he LOVED them so much!!) The Black-eyed peas are for LUCK (use to someone put a dime in the bowl and who ever got it in their plate was suppose to be the luckiest person that year in that group) The hog jowl and/or fat back are for HEALTH (later in life I always found that funny, that the fatty fried food was for health!!!??) The Collards are for MONEY (or RICHES, we sometimes substitute turinp greens or mustard greens for the Collards) The MORE you are of each of these three things, the more you had of those three things all year long. What are your food traditions on New Year's???? Patty

Although I was raised in the south, my Mom was from New York, so she kinda combined traditions. Our New Year's dinner is always: Ham Black eyed peas (the hard kind of course, cooked forever with a little of the ham) Rice (the black eyed peas are on top of the rice sweet potatos (more recently sweet potato casserole) pole beans (fresh, also cooked with a little ham and lots of salt) Sometimes Mom would throw in a pork roast (we had plenty of family to eat all that was there). I think pork roast is the northern tradition. I will cook most of the above and think I will eat a little of everything but the rice. Susann

MY DADDY IS FROM PENNSYLVANIA, AS AM I. I HAVE NO IDEA IF THERE IS A MEANING BEHIND THEIR NEW YEAR'S DAY DINNER, BUT ... MY FATHER'S FAMILY CAME FROM (NOT GOING TO SPELL THIS RIGHT!) ALSALSE LORRAINE, FRANCE ... &, HIS FAMILY IS OF FRENCH/GERMAN DECENT, SO I'M SURE THIS IS FROM THE GERMAN SIDE ... PORK ROAST ... MASHED POTATOES ... &, SOUR KROUT (sp?). THE SOUR KROUT IS PLACED ON TOP OF THE MASHED POTATOES & THE JUICE FROM THE SOUR KROUT IS POURED OVER IT. I ALWAYS MAKE PORK GRAVY TO POUR OVER THE MEAT. AS FOR THE VEGETABLES, IT CHANGES ... BUT, THE PORK ROAST, & MASHED POTATOES TOPPED WITH SOUT KROUT NEVER DOES. WE'VE HAD IT ON NEW YEAR'S DAY FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. HAVE A NEW YEAR BLESSED WITH JOY, HEALTH & PROSPERITY DAWN & NICK