Ignat Day

The origin of ceremony

In ancient Egypt, although the pig was considered a disgusting animal, people sacrificed him and eat him, ritual in honor of the god Osiris. After many millennia of that ritual the romanians keeps certain elements of the cult such as the slaughter of pig on 20th December.

Ignat is a solar deity who took the name and date of the celebration of Saint Ignatius Teoforul (December 20) in the Orthodox calendar.

The tradition
The romanian legend In the tradition of the Romanian Ignat is a peasant who trying to sacrifice the pig, he accidentally kills his father with his axe. After many days that cries after his father, Ignat dream God, which says to take the family and to move on the banks of the river for three years. Ignat built a shack on the shore of the river and moved there, and in these three years has helped people to cross the river and saved many lives.

One day he hears cries for help and after repeated searches he found in forest two elders who were God and St. Peter. Ignat did not recognized elders.After they arrived in the house,God ask Ignats wife why she dont give food to they children. The woman says she doesn't have food but God insisted that woman to look in the kitchen.The woman finds food so Ignat realized that he had helped the God. God came out with Ignat and told him that he had forgave him.The two elders take Ignat with them and the peasant was worried about his children, but God told him to calm down because he will take care of his children. After a long journey with God, Ignat saws some gentlemans and realize that they are his children and remains with his family forever. The celebration in Baragan

The ritual sequences commencing the celebration of Christmas begin on December 20th, also known as the Ignats day, a day when a pig is sacrificed so that ritual food can be prepared for the Christmas feast out of its meat. The story says that people are not allowed to do something else in their household than deal with the activities related to the pig's "sacrifice". The animal "killed" in this day is a substitute of the ancient god that dies and resurrects after that. Also, the merciful persons are forbidden to take place to this sacrifice as this will cause a slow and painful death of the animal, which will result in bad meat. A man using a large knife, cuts the jugular of the pig,quickly. After that, it comes the pig "burning" and cleaning with a brush, knife and warm water with a lot of salt until the skin becomes white-yellowish. There is a technique in skin burning so that it is neither uncooked, nor overburned. After all this operations have been completed, the skin is rubbed with salt.

Well, another custom follows: a sign in the form of a cross is slashed on the pig's forehead and then covered with salt so that the animal's spirit rises easier. In other regions this sign is made on the nape. After cutting the head follow the cutting of legs. Women will remove organs from pigs and men will remove the bacon and ham. After this procedure the pork will be cut. When everything is ready, the children are very eager for eating rind. All those who participated in the celebration of the Ignat day will participate in Pomana Porculuia old tradition in Romania.

Pomana Porcului will be eaten with polenta,wich is made by women and the men will drink plum brandy.

So thats the Ignat Day , a celebration that found in the region which I came, a celebration and a tradition that lasts for hundreds of years!