Nghe An people are bustling with pigs on Tet holiday
(Baonghean.vn) - During Tet, many families, especially in rural areas in the province, still maintain the custom of slaughtering pigs. This is not only a beautiful cultural feature, fostering solidarity, but also providing clean pork, ensuring safety for people to enjoy Tet and welcome Spring.
This year, Ngo Tri Tinh's family in Dien Nguyen commune, Dien Chau district sold all their pigs, but still kept one for the Tet pig sale. Tinh's family's pigs are well cared for and have delicious meat, so everyone chose them as the pig sale household.
From early morning, households participating in pig slaughtering gathered at Mr. Tinh’s house. Strong men were in charge of transporting pigs and butchering them while women were in charge of cooking and logistics. The Tet atmosphere was filled with laughter and chatter.
After about 1 hour, the pig weighing more than 500 kg was butchered and divided into parts, while the internal organs were processed on the spot to make lunch for the residents to enjoy.
Mr. Dam Van Le, Dien Nguyen commune shared: Pork is an indispensable food during Tet, now it is very simple to go out and buy it, however, every year my family still has pork because the quality of home-raised pork is guaranteed to be better than pork in the market. Clean pork is more secure when offering to ancestors, and everyone enjoys it more deliciously during Tet.
According to the people, the pigs chosen for slaughter are well cared for, raised in the traditional way, eating only vegetables, rice bran, etc., without using industrial foods. When cooked, the meat will be dry, firmer, and more delicious. Pigs raised for slaughter during Tet are usually chosen to have thick hair, long bodies, and black pigs are better. A pig for slaughter is not too big, usually weighing from 50 to 70 kg.
In the countryside, the Tet pig slaughtering is usually done by 2-5 households, but it can also be done by nearly 10 households, depending on the weight of the pig, whether it is big or small, and the meat needs of the households in the group eating the slaughtering are large or small...
Mr. Nguyen Van Hoan, Dien Chau district said: The day of the pig slaughter is also the day when brothers and neighbors gather together to make a cozy family reunion meal. This custom has been maintained by my family from year to year, both to have meat to prepare dishes to offer to the ancestral altar, to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year, and to strengthen the affection of family members and neighbors sitting together after a year of hard work.
Not simply preparing food for Tet, slaughtering pigs is often chosen by many people because this way, pork is cheaper than buying retail in the market. This is a beautiful cultural feature that people have maintained for many years, contributing to making the Tet atmosphere warmer and more meaningful.
