In search of the golden pig.
In many cultures the pig has a symbolic meaning. In some the pig is an unclean animal, but more often the pig is seen as a symbol of good luck. It is not for nothing that money boxes are often shaped like a pig. Owning a pig meant wealth and prosperity and this belief goes back as far as the Middle Ages. In Central Europe the traditional slaughter of a pig often took place at the beginning of December, at the start of the Advent period, the period that counts the four Sundays preceding Christmas. The pig slaughter was a festive day when the whole village would come together, and a feast was prepared from those parts of the pig that needed to be processed quickly. The rest would be preserved and processed as much as possible so that the meat could be kept for the cold winter months. Building a nest egg, prosperity for the future. In the Czech Republic, a traditional meal is still being eaten on New Year's Day with lentils and a cooked pig's head on the menu. The tender head meat is served with a horseradish sauce. The individual parts of the pig's head have their own symbolic meaning. Someone who receives the ear will hear well and be docile in the coming year, someone who receives the cheeks will be kind and merciful.
In the Christmas tradition of many Central European countries, a golden piggy is associated with Christmas and in particular with Christmas Eve, the 24th of December. One believes that someone who fasted that day and did not eat meat will see a picture of a golden pig on the wall on Christmas Eve. When you see the golden piggy, you will experience good luck in the year to come. The color of the pig has a special meaning in this tradition. Of course, the color refers to the richness of gold, but the color has much more to do with the golden rays of the sun. With the solstice that is approaching, the days that will start to lengthen after the Christmas period, the new season and spring on its way. The Central European belief in the good luck pig, traveled across the Atlantic and accompanied immigrants in search of new happiness in America. At the end of the nineteenth century, the tradition of the ‘Peppermint Pig’ originated there. A pink candy piglet that was put in a velvet bag after the Christmas dinner and then was broken into pieces with a hammer. Each family member got their own portion of happiness, just like the parts of the pig’s heard that are still being eaten on New Year’s Day.
The pig as a symbol of good luck may have had its heyday in the nineteenth century. It featured as a good luck symbol, as a charm on necklaces and bracelets, as a pincushion or as an image on the Christmas and New Year greetings that became very popular in the nineteenth century. All this influences the image of the pig as a bringer of good luck to this day. The pig is still being seen as an intelligent animal that brings good luck for the future and it doesn’t necessarily have to be golden to bring that good fortune. The little pink piglet or the big fat pig also symbolise luck, especially when combined with the ultimate luck symbol, the four-leaf clover. But that, dear people, that’s another story.