Years ago, while attending a respected Presbyterian college, I heard a professor compare Christian prayer to a rat in a Skinner box. Lightning didn't strike, and he completed the lecture and left unscathed.
He explained that it takes hardly any time at all to train the rat to push a lever to get a pellet of food. Once he is conditioned, you can set the box to dispense a pellet or not, and the more seldom a pellet drops, the more vigorously the rat will push the lever.
The same sort of conditioned response (or superstitious behavior) applies to the things we traditionally eat on New Year's Day.
The food we eat varies considerably depending on geography, but everyone seems to have a must-have item on their menu.
Some swear by corned beef and cabbage (or just cabbage by itself) while some take their cabbage in the form of sauerkraut, and others claim collard greens are far superior.
Black-eyed peas are a must for many, while others swear that the peas alone are useless - you must combine them with rice to make Hoppin' John in order for them to bring luck.
While I don't know which of these foods are best, we do continue the tradition, and so far, so good.
Why, just the other day, before she even started cooking, Honey was rinsing the dried peas in a colander. At least for a few moments, she achieved whirled peas!
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