What is the deal with Christmas Ham?

This year my work gave everybody a ham for Christmas and it got me thinking…what the heck is the deal with serving ham at Christmas?

I couldn’t let it go, and I started pondering the origins of the “Holiday ham”. I decided to do a little research… here’s what I found out.

History

Apparently, serving ham for Christmas has roots in ancient pagan ritual. Things get a little fuzzy as to the exact origin because there are several historical references, but here is the gist of it. In the pre-Christian AD times, a wild boar was supposedly the sacrifice of choice to the Norse god Freya, who was associated with harvest and phallic fertility. When pagans were converted to Christianity, the porcine meal became linked to St. Stephen, whose feast day is December 26th, and is often depicted as serving a boar’s head as an offering. Germanic Pagans also celebrated this festival called "Yule" in honor of their god Odin, the god of the wild hunt. Yule boar was a centerpiece of their festivities.(3)

So, I guess in a nutshell that is how the Christmas Ham was born.

An interesting side note I learned is that the "Christmas Ham" reportedly had a more sinister use later in history. Possibly stemming from the anti-semitic attitudes the Catholic Church inherited from the Pagan Romans. This was during the time of Constantine, when they took over Christianity. It was said that during this time, the Christmas ham was popularized by the Catholic Church to test truthful conversion from Judaism to Christianity. Those who continued to observe Judaism in secret would decline to eat the Christmas ham, while authentic converts would enjoy the pig meat without question. Seems crazy right? Well if you are interested in learning more about that, the info is easily found in almost any encyclopedia or history book. (1, 2)

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/87719/forbidden-food

In the 2,000 years since, the Christmas ham became a sweet-salty staple of the holiday meal.  It became even more popular in the 1950s, served with whole cloves, canned pineapple slices and bright red maraschino cherries, and glazed in brown sugar. Most every grandmother has her own stash of secret holiday recipes, and admittedly, my own adaptation of my grandmother’s recipe may not make use of pineapple slices or maraschino cherries…but the cloves are still there.

What is Ham?

Ok, lets take a step back and demystify the ham for a moment.  Ham is more than just a piece of pork and it deserves a little exploration.

First of all, ham generally comes from the rear haunch of a pig or boar. It is one huge piece of meat and can be sold with or without the bone. Ham is a part of food traditions in many countries (think Italian prosciutto), but nowhere are the laws about ham more strict than in Spain. You’ll know why, if you ever get to taste Spanish ham, or jamon(spoiler alert, it’s amazing).

In the U.S. fresh ham—uncooked and uncured—is sold everywhere, but this won’t taste like “ham.” It will just taste like pork. If you are like me, you probably want “ham-flavored” ham for Christmas, and for that you have two options.

Country ham or a baked ham?

Country ham is dry-cured ham that has been cured with salt and then dried. It can be smoked or unsmoked. Your other choice for ham for the holidays is a baked ham. A baked ham has been wet cured (soaked in brine or injected with brine), and smoked. The brine contains salt, sugar or honey, nitrates or nitrites and other flavorings/spices. Baked hams can come either fully or partially cooked, make sure to check the labeling on your ham.

http://www.foodrepublic.com/2011/12/22/in-defense-of-christmas-ham/

In my neck of the woods, most of the traditional Christmas ham I have enjoyed have been baked and served with some sort of glaze. The salty-sweet coating on the ham imparts extra sweetness to the outside of the ham to complement the salty cured insides perfectly. Glaze recipes vary greatly and can come from family traditions, cookbooks and magazines, or can be found on nearly every cooking site on the Internet this time of year. Experiment with the flavors you enjoy most and create your own glaze if you dare.

I was curious, so I took informal poll of and although most of my friends revealed they planned on serving ham this Christmas, but several people also shared some very different family holiday traditions. The most fun I heard included some Christmas raviolis, tamales, and even the popular Chinese food for dinner instead of ham.

Personally for my Christmas dinner this year I have decided to go with the “traditional” clove studded, glazed and crosshatched style ham that will hopefully give the Norman Rockwell painting a run for its money. Of course if you do make a ham like me, remember that whatever recipe you choose, leftovers make great sandwiches and can make a killer addition to split pea soup!

1. Roberto F. Chinese food is the spirit of Jewish Christmas. Washington Post, The [serial online]. 12:Available from: Points of View Reference Center, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 23, 2015.

2. This week in religion history - April 1-7. Canadian Press, The [serial online]. n.d.;Available from: Points of View Reference Center, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 23, 2015.

3. Wilson A. Christmas and Easter. Jamaica: The Culture [serial online]. January 2004;:12-13. Available from: History Reference Center, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 24, 2015.