Christmas in Romania sounds like a fun time for those who like pork. Here is a description of one particular custom as related on a Romanian website:
Five days before Christmas, on 20th of December, a very sharp knife is used to cut the pig in the honor of Saint Ignatius and this ritual is known as ‘Ignatius’ too after him. It is washed nicely and covered with a piece of cloth for 10 minutes. Then, the housewife puts the straws in the pig’s snout and covers it with burning straws and singes it. Then, the husband makes the sign of the cross on the pig’s head and announces to the family – “Let’s eat the pig!”. Then, a feast is held known as the pig’s funeral feast or alms and all the family, friends and neighbors are invited to the feast. Besides bacon, people also eat small pieces of fried pork and drink wine or plum brandy.
Here is a recipe from Radio Romania International. I can’t say that I’m too eager to sample it:
The main pork-based Christmas dish is the hog’s pudding, TOBA in Romanian. It is a mix of pieces of pork with fat, cut out from the goiter region, added to which are pork rind and pieces of liver, heart, kidneys and tongue, as well as ears. All that is minced and then used as a filling for the pig’s stomach. Traditionally, the stomach of the pig is used for the hog’s pudding. Right after the slaughter of the pig, salt is rubbed in and the inner membrane is cleaned. The stomach is then soaked in a mix of water and vinegar, with an onion cut in four also placed there, in order to get rid of the bad smell. Pieces of meat, ears, pork rind, tongue, heart, liver and kidneys are washed and cleaned. Then they are put to the boil with two bay leaves, several pepper and pimento corns, an onion and a spoonful of salt. As soon as boiling time is over, the meat and the other ingredients need to be minced. All those minced pieces are used as a filling for the hog’s pudding, TOBA in Romanian.
As soon as the pig stomach is filled, the slit needs to be sown. The hog’s pudding is then pierced several times before it is put to the boil once again, on medium heat. The hog’s pudding is boiled for about thirty minutes, in the same juice where crushed garlic has been added. Then the hog’s pudding needs to be cooled. For that, it is placed between two wooden boards: the extra juice is thus squeezed as the boards press the hog’s pudding. The hog’s pudding can also be smoked. It is kept cool and sliced before it is served on the appetizers platter, alongside pork rind, pork scraps, slices of liverwurst, black pudding or smoked or half-smoked sausages, with or without paprika.