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Cowboy Chicken will serve up free black-eyed peas on New Year's Day

Eating black-eyed peas for luck on New Year's Day is a tradition across the South.

December 29, 2014

Dallas-based Cowboy Chicken has announced it will offer a complimentary serving of black-eyed peas for good luck to each guest on New Year's Day.

"Cowboy Chicken welcomes our guests for some of our famous black-eyed peas on New Year's Day each year," said Cowboy Chicken President Sean Kennedy in a company press release. "Remember, black-eyed peas on New Year's Day brings good luck for the entire year."

According to the release, the black-eyed pea has been a staple in the Southern diet for over 300 years. The tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck is rooted in the Civil War.

According to the story, General William T. Sherman destroyed everything but black-eyed peas on his infamous March to the Sea. The troops didn't know people ate black-eyed peas, because in the North, only cattle ate black-eyed peas. Therefore, the troops saw no need to destroy this crop. The black-eyed pea is credited with saving Southerners from starvation following the war.