2020 will not be a tough act to follow, and many people eagerly await the ringing of the New Year in Breaux Bridge, LA. It’s an out with the old, in with the new feeling for a majority of people. 2020 has brought trials and tribulations galore for many in south Louisiana from a seemingly never-ending hurricane season to a global pandemic that wreaked havoc on the local economy. With a vaccine being distributed, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it comes at the perfect time. A new year is both a symbolic and a literal fresh start. A time to cleanse and a time to hold on to New Year traditions that are supposed to bring good luck and good fortune to all.
Cajun heritage is steeped in tradition, and many Cajun families will ring in 2021 with a big meal focusing on black-eyed peas and smothered cabbage. Black-eyed peas symbolize bringing coin and are supposed to bring good fortune to the new year. Cabbage represents luck and is traditionally smothered with ham or sausage until it develops a sweet and rich caramelized flavor.
Whether you spend this New Year’s Day with immediate family or have a moderately sized gathering in Breaux Bridge, LA, spreading the luck around with big pots of smothered cabbage and slow-cooked black-eyed peas will make for some happy stomachs on that first day of 2021, and if superstition holds true lots of luck and wealth in the new year.
