Thank you for posting this! My adult daughter asked me about the history of eating the peas this New Year's and I didn't know. Just did it because my Mama always had them and it is Southern tradition. When I married in 1979 and moved to Ohio ("up North") Mama INSISTED I pack China Doll black eyed peas and cornmeal....which she was pretty sure were not available in the Yankee regions. I have a hoard of them in my pantry even now....