Fun traditions - Peppermint Pig

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

Holidays are filled with traditions. But no one says you can't borrow traditions from other families or cultures. Particularly if you want to spice things up a bit.

Here's a fun tradition that my family borrowed. My brother-in-law introduced us to the peppermint pig at least a decade ago. He'd seen it in a catalog and thought we should try it. The peppermint pig started in Saratoga Springs, New York in the early 1880s making this tradition over 120 years old.

The pig is a symbol of good health, happiness, and prosperity. This hard candy pig is a little smaller than a hot dog bun. The pig comes with a velvet bag and a small hammer. After the festive holiday meal is cleared from the table, you have everyone return to their seats. You put the pig in the bag, and everyone has a turn hitting it with the hammer. We like to go from youngest child to oldest adult, but you can choose any method you like. We also like to get very silly and bang on the table and shout "pig, pig, pig" but you don't have to. You should see the looks on small children's faces when they get to use a hammer at the dinner table. And you should see their eyes when their ladylike grandmother is banging on the table shouting "pig, pig". When the pig is in pieces, open the bag. Pass it around and let everyone taste a piece of peppermint to symbolize a sweet year.

My boys love hammering the pig. I like that it's a bit of silliness, of bringing out the child in everyone, that it can involve the entire family from grand-father to small child. We took one of our hammers and tied a red ribbon on it and hung it on our tree to remind us of many Christmases. It's a silly tradition that I'm very glad we adopted.

More on Christmas Traditions: Making Christmas Traditions Why You and Your Spouse Should Make Your Own Traditions

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

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