Traditions differ all over America, and that’s no different for New Year’s Day dinner. According to Delish, most folks in the North, Central and Western U.S. prepare a dinner of pork and sauerkraut, Irish-Americans enjoy buttered bread, German-Americans sometimes follow a tradition of “Berliner” doughnuts. German-Americans also ring in the New Year with a big soft pretzel to symbolize good luck, health, and prosperity in the year ahead, according to History.com.
Down here in the South, folks traditionally enjoy hoppin’ John.
Also known as Carolina peas and rice, hoppin John is a dish served mainly with black-eyed peas and rice, chopped onion, sliced bacon, and seasoned with salt. Some recipes use ham hock or fat back instead of bacon, and some folks also add green peppers and spices.
Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are sometimes used here in the South Carolina Lowcountry, but it’s usually with black eyed peas.
In the South, eating Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck.