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“Cutting the pig is a ritual act with roots that are apprentice of St. John Evangelist, is celebrated
found deep in the history of human civilization.” in the Christian Orthodox religion. “
“According to some sources, the boar “The ritual of sacrificing the pig around
in Europe would have been domesticated by the Christmas holidays is reminiscent of the
about 10,000 years BC in the lower valley of the animal sacrifices practiced by the old peoples
Danube.” (Egyptians, Greeks, Romans) during the periods
“For the Romanian peasant, Christmas of passage from one year or season to the
actually begins at Ignat, with the pig cutting. In next. At a time such as the one at the cost of
addition, ethnologists signal his presence even the old year and the new year, it was settled on
in carols: “The roar ingenuity has suffered a the regenerating function of sacrifice. With this
morphological substitution through a pig’s head. sacrifice, the semantic equivalent of the year
However, it is apparent from the text of the carol that goes out, a new life is born, that of the new
that it is wild boar, not pork. (...) <<Lord, if you ask year.”
me / i tell you with your right: / up to the mountain “In the faith of the ancient Dacians, the
I lived, / jir and acorn I grazed, / down to the pig was sacrificed as a symbol of the divinity
valley I descended, / fresh water I drank, / fresh of darkness, which weakened the power of the
water of pruning, / and I lived in the clearing. / I Sun on the shortest day of the year at the Winter
saw women, / bypassing the gardens,/ all men Solstice. To come to the aid of the Sun, people
call you / with forks and axes, / hunters with sacrificed pigs. After that, the day began to grow
guns, / shepherds with hooks. / I’ve got enough, and Christmas became a celebration of light and
/ They’ve got me, / Stabbed me, / Cut me, / life.”
body in straw i’m burning. / Children took fart, “The IGNATius had to take place in the
/ women bacon, / head households, / hunters, light, since only light could keep at its distance,
/ shepherds whistles. (Romulus Vulcănescu, by its burning power, the evil spirits, who would
Mythology Romanian)” try to undo the virtues of sacrifice.”
“A sacred animal for dacians, the boar “The ritual ensemble of the pig’s “cutting”
was loaded on our plateaus with a symbolism of is concluded by the common mass, generally
both Celtic and elin, representing according to called “pig’s alms”, in some places “pig feast”
Romulus Vulcănescu a “demon of brutal force, (Prahova). As a form of food communion
warrior rage, vitality and prolificity, for which it was constituting the final phase of any sacrificial act,
considered a “special food”, consumed annually “pig alms” goes beyond food connotations. In
in early November, which corresponds to the ancient patterns of traditional life, it was carried
pig’s sacrifice for the winter holidays: Christmas out in a solemn atmosphere, quietly, being carried
and New Year.” out, first and foremost, the spiritual communion of
“The winter holidays, which span three the participants in the sacrificial act performed.”
weeks, begins on December 20th with the Feast
of Ignatius. On this day, Saint Anastasia STOICIU
Martyr Ignatius Theoforu, descendant of the 14 decembrie 2019
Apostles, patriarch of the Church of Antioch and

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