By Joann M. Ringelstetter
Yesterday, March 1, was National Pig Day. This holiday is most popular in the Midwest, with events held at schools, zoos, and museums.
And, believe it or not, 123Greetings.com, a website featuring free online greeting cards, actually offered 35 different versions of National Pig Day greeting cards.
This unofficial holiday began in 1972 when sisters Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave decided (according to Ms. Rave) “to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals.”
It is also a tribute to the animal that provides us with delicious pork products, such as pork chops, ham, and bacon.
There’s nothing tastier than a pork chop on a stick, which is a grilled treat often served by the Pork Producers Association at local fairs and festivals. And there are a few men in our family (you know who you are) who drool over photos and recipes featuring bacon. Bacon, bacon, bacon!
Pigs have been featured in books, TV shows, and movies. Some of the more famous ones are Hamm (from Toy Story), Miss Piggy (the famous Muppet), Wilbur (from Charlotte’s Web), Piglet (Winnie the Pooh’s friend), Babe (the pig who wanted to be a sheepdog), Arnold (from Green Acres), and Porky Pig (of Looney Tunes fame).
Pigs are also featured in many of our English expressions. We “pig out” on our favorite foods. And sometimes we “go hog wild.”
We “sweat like a pig” when we exercise and we say someone is a pig or lives like a pig when they’re messy or dirty, like the pig below.
Then there’s Ruth’s all-time favorite saying, “When pigs fly!”…which the pig below won’t be doing anytime soon! And don’t forget that “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.”
My apologies to all the pigs out there for being late with this post. And, as Porky Pig always said at the end of the Looney Tunes cartoons: “Th-th-th-th-that’s all folks!”
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Nice commentary and pictures. I didn't know the pig had it's own day.
ReplyDeleteAmazing Creatures Pigs are and Nowe they have a day of their own. :)
ReplyDelete