Ham is a traditional Easter dinner (or supper if you're from the south), served all over the country. That seems like a contradiction to me, since pork is forbidden by Jewish dietary laws and Jesus was a Jew. In addition, it seems weird to celebrate the Resurrection of The Christ by eating a scavenger.
In looking around the web, I noticed many had tied in the Easter ham with various Pagan rituals, many of which have in fact infiltrated the Christian Faith. However, I think I found the most likely explanation on a page titled "Traditional Easter Foods" on About.com:
"In the United States, ham is a traditional Easter food. In the early days, meat was slaughtered in the fall. There was no refrigeration, and the fresh pork that wasn't consumed during the winter months before Lent was cured for spring. The curing process took a long time, and the first hams were ready around the time Easter rolled around. Thus, ham was a natural choice for the celebratory Easter dinner."
In addition, a ham can feed a lot of people. When I was younger, we had large gatherings at my Grandmother's house on all the holidays. Today, we're scattered all over the country and so a whole ham would be overkill.
We're having lamb today, look for a post on that later. For the record, I did buy a half ham, it is in the freezer and will be done up in the next week or so. It will provide several dinners and a nice bone for a pot of ham and beans!
No comments:
Post a Comment