The Significance Of Black-Eyed Peas And Collard Greens For Kwanzaa

My memories of Kwanzaa are all of my grandmother's dinner table. She had thick red glassware with matching plates, cups, and bowls. She always spent weeks hunting for black candles that sat in the middle of the table. The food itself was part of the décor. The colors all seemed to represent the colors of Kwanzaa since the greens (always collard) and the black-eyed peas were always front and center. As a kid, I didn't know that everything had a meaning and importance for the next year, from the red glassware to the yellow cornbread. I also didn't know that the wishes for wealth and luck came from the collard greens and the black-eyed peas.

As an adult, I looked up the elements of Kwanzaa and discovered that the black-eyed peas symbolized luck and hope, while the collard greens symbolized money or wealth. Both foods have been a part of Black culture since slavery, and Kwanzaa highlights their importance in the history of the culture. The holiday was created in 1966 amidst the Civil Rights Movement to celebrate the African diaspora and uplift African American people. The holiday blends traditions that originated with enslaved Africans brought to the U.S. via the Transatlantic slave trade with African terms and practices. The result is a seven day celebration with food, music, and storytelling. The food holds great significance.

My grandmother taught me that black-eyed peas (an important ingredient in soul food classics) and collard greens were some of the foods that were given to the enslaved people because the white plantation owners did not want them. Collard greens are cooked with ham hocks and slivers of pork belly, which are other less-than-desirable foods. Black-eyed peas are the same. She said we ate those foods for Kwanzaa to remember where we came from and to hope for a better future. 

I always remember the collard greens and black-eyed peas are cooked separately. The collards are stewed for two hours (sometimes longer, depending on who's cooking them). They are either cut or shredded into a seasoned vinegar liquid with garlic cloves and meat like ham hocks, bacon, or even a smoked turkey leg or wing. The black-eyed peas simmer for hours in a seasoned broth with similar meats. Some modern cooks mix the two into one dish, but that is not the traditional way to cook the two dishes. However you decide to cook them, you can't have collards or black-eyed peas without sweet and savory cornbread. I learned that cornbread represents the children. That's fitting. I used to swipe pieces of cornbread off the table while the adults were preparing everything else for Kwanzaa dinner.