This little piggy… The story of the Swedish Christmas pig
- 7 years ago
- Views : 7646
- Ellen Ripa
It’s that time of year again! Christmas is nearly upon us: a time for festivity, family and friends…and pigs? Yes, pigs! If you’re going all out for a Scandi Christmas this year then you’ll need to learn about the Swedish piggy obsession!
Going back to the 19th century, pigs were popular as farm animals, and often less moneyed families would own only one animal. Christmas would be the time of celebration, and the pig would be made the centrepiece of every Julbord (Christmas buffet) as a Julskinka, or Christmas ham. Christmas would be one of the only times people could indulge and eat fresh meat, and soon the ham, pork sausage and brawn were staple components of every Swedish household’s Christmas feast. For those with a sweet tooth, pigs are also made out of marzipan as a sweet treat. A pig is also a common cookie cutter shape, to make homemade gingerbread cookies!
Not just confined to the dinner table – pigs soon became represented in Christmas decorations too! One popular decoration is a wooden candle stick holder, and they were also very popular on traditional Swedish Christmas cards and postcards.
Below are some piggy related decorations and recipes to complete your Scandi Christmas! Or visit Skandihome’s Piggy Pinterest board for more ideas!
Scandi Pig Shopping list: