Although cruel, the tradition of pig slaughtering is ancient and not many Romanians are happy to let it go. But the tradition is not a symbol of cruelty – its purpose is not “entertainment.” This is the way archaic Romanians used to sacrifice pigs to feed their families at Christmas.
Like last Christmas, I will be in Germany—in Schweich, a nice little town in Mosel.
For the past eight years, my longing for Romanian traditions and spirit kept me somehow away from the simple joys of Christmas. Germany is so different. Many traditions are similar—the Christmas tree is still a Christmas tree. The mulled wine tastes as good here as it does at home. But that’s about it. Somehow, there’s no real joy here—not even at the Trier Christmas Market, so famous in the region.
Families get together, eat together, sing together. But the Christmas carols don’t have the sad beauty of a Romanian carol.
The traditional Christmas food in Germany is somehow plain. There’s nothing really special about it. Romania’s Christmas traditions sometimes remind me of pagan rituals: the pig slaughtering is cruel, yet it’s been a Christmas tradition for as long as I can remember.
As a child, I was so scared whenever I heard the dying animals’ screams. Now, I doubt I can ever watch another pig slaughtering without crying for the poor, innocent animals that die to make our Christmas table richer.
I remember my grandma sharing a tear for the sacrificed animals each Christmas. Things I couldn’t understand back then come back to me now, and I cannot help but wonder: Is this a tradition we should actually keep? Romanians are not cruel people. This tradition finds its roots back in the illo tempore—in ancient times, no one really recalls.
With the admittance of Romania to the EU, the slaughtering needs to go. Yet the EU will let Romania continue slaughtering pigs for Xmas in the traditional way. The reasoning behind this is simple: if killing bulls in the arena for entertainment purposes is legal, why should the Romanian tradition go when its purpose is not as cruel as the corrida?
Modern, less cruel methods of animal sacrifice have to replace it. It will take time for them to find their way in all the Romanian villages and be accepted by the Romanian peasants who inherited this method from their ancestors.
Well, although a cruel tradition, I do miss being there when all my family gathered together to prepare traditional pork food. The whole pig slaughtering ritual is special not because of the way the pig is actually sacrificed but because of what follows. All the family members work together to prepare the food for the Christmas meal.
The pigs are slaughtered on December 20th, the feast of St. Ignatius. Legends say that the pigs actually dream their death, which could explain why all the pigs in the village “whine” the night before their sacrifice.
After the sacrifice, there are only four days left to prepare the meat, make sausages, melt the fat and so on. Each day ends with a little feast. I miss this: being home, at my grandma’s and preparing that food with all my family. Sitting by the fire, singing, telling stories, praying together, listening to my grandma’s voice bless our meal.
