Happy Belated Pig Day

I bet that very few if any of you had any knowledge about our national holiday that is never celebrated, well in this area anyway. Ladies and Gents of all ages, March 1 is known as National Pig Day. It first began in 1972 in the mid-west. It started in Lubbock, Texas by Ellen Stanley and Mary Lynne Rave. This was to celebrate and honor domesticated livestock.

As a child, I was taught that our livestock weren’t for pets, but for food on our table. As years came and went, I too was a farmer of chickens and one single pig, two dogs and a cat. I also collected figurines, plush and even glass and wooden pigs. I would also dress up as Miss Piggy for a party. I was even known to create a pig cake for one of my son’s teachers. As the years went by, I changed décor many times, but one thing that I have never forgotten was that March 1 is National Pig day. If you have a pet pig, wonderful, grab it and play or snuggle with it on that special day. You can even celebrate the pig by eating them or even giving a pig a rest.

Personally, I find it hard to understand why when a young girl has her hair up on each side of her head that they are called pig tails and the other one on the back is the pony tail. Pigs only have one tail and that is enough to make you wonder. Pigs are also taken to schools, nursing homes, and they even are known to appear at sporting games and at a zoo. We have been fortunate enough to see pigs in movies and read about them in some really awesome stories. Of course we can’t forget Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web and Arnold Ziffel from Green Acres television show.

Many of you might believe they are a dirty animal, when that isn’t so. It is the opposite and they do not go to the bathroom where they eat or sleep and the piglets know this also at a very young age. They are intelligent animals and have a keen sense of smell that is known to be more powerful than that of a dog and like dogs, they can be trained as well. I think it would be great to spread the word on this National Holiday that we can celebrate one way or another. Maybe not a day off from work, but maybe home with the family. 

I want to add one last thing to this story and that is my Grandpa, who I never knew, also had a pet pig, but I bet he was food too.