Much preceded the New Year's Eve "Watch Night" church services of my childhood.
There was the cooking. Pots bubbled over on the stove and in the oven, with their accompanying smells permeating every crevice of our apartment.
Yes, you could find the fried chicken, mashed potatoes and the endless ears of corn. The poundcakes and sweet potato pies.
But some foods were used for far more than mere sustenance.
These contained the added ingredients of lore and superstition: Black-eyed peas were almost always present. And whether you liked them or not, you ate a few spoonfuls because they were believed to usher in prosperity and good luck.
Collard greens and tomatoes symbolized the abundance of the harvest and were to ensure good health and high spirits during the coming year. [...]
| Continue Dawn Turner Trice's registration-required Chicago Tribune column "'Watch Night' memories still meaningful"
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