National Pig Day

National Pig Day is an event held annually on the first day of March in the United States to celebrate the pig. The holiday is most often celebrated in the Midwest of the US. It is not a federal holiday.

The holiday celebration in the USA was started in 1972 by sisters Ellen Stanley, a teacher at All Saints Episcopal School in Lubbock, Texas, and Mary Lynne Rave of Beaufort, North Carolina.[1][2][3] According to Rave the purpose of the National Pig Day is "to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place" as one of the most intelligent domesticated animals.[2] The holiday is most often celebrated in the Midwest.[4]

National Pig Day includes events at zoos, schools,[5] nursing homes, and sporting events around the United States. It is also recognized at "pig parties" where pink pig punch and pork delicacies are served, and pink ribbon pigtails are tied around trees in the pigs' honor.[2] According to Chase's Calendar of Events, National Pig Day is on the same day as pseudo-holidays Share a Smile day and Peanut Butter Lover's day.[6] It is an open question whether the holiday is a time to honor pigs by "giving them a break" or to appreciate their offerings (spare ribs, bacon and ham).[7]

  1. ^ Sarah Casey Newman Pig Day Hogs Spotlight February 26, 2000 page 43 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  2. ^ a b c A Pig-Out for porkers February 23, 1980 Associated Press story reported in Virgin Islands Daily News
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference IronPigs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Graeber, Laurel (February 27, 1998). "Family Fare: 3 Pigs, Not All Little". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  5. ^ Flick, David (February 28, 1998). "A Pig Day at School: Kids Learn All Sorts of Things; Some They May Want to Forget". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  6. ^ Jim Slotek March may come in like a lion or a lamb, but it goes out like a teenager abducted by extraterrestrials goofing off Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine March 1, 2009 Toronto Sun
  7. ^ "But what about National Pig Day? Is it time to celebrate what the pig offers by downing spare ribs, bacon, and ham? Or is it time to give the little guys a break – to step back and just appreciate all they offer us?" Stuttley, Henry Go hog wild National Pig Day is Wednesday. How will you be celebrating? February 28, 2006 Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois)