With New Year’s on the horizon, many Pearl River County residents will be preparing to make their traditional dish to receive the benefits it is said to provide.

For most, they will be filling their carts with heads of cabbage and packets of black-eyed peas before they head for the checkout line.

The traditional dish is said to bring good luck from the black-eyed peas, while the cabbage is supposed to result in more money during the coming year.

“It has to be cabbage and black-eyes peas,” Janice Wagoner said. Wagoner said that she chooses the dish not only because it will bring good luck, but also because it’s a tradition passed down by previous generations.

Vicky Knight also said she prepares cabbage leaves and serves them with black-eyed peas every year on New Year’s Eve.

But not everyone makes the same dish for their New Year’s meal. For some it’s either similar to Christmas dinner or a creole classic.

“I typically like to have ham, mac and cheese and turkey,” said Kacie Gross. “The special dish would have to be my grandmother’s homemade gumbo.”

John Manguno, who is originally from New Orleans said he doesn’t have a traditional New Year’s meal, so he just makes anything.